


If You Go Down in the Woods Today

by BandraK



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Smut-adjacent, What the hell was I thinking, flustered Emma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2018-03-31 05:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 60,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3965716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BandraK/pseuds/BandraK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's bad enough sharing a best friend with your mom, worse when she has all the tact and self control of a two year old riding a sugar rush. But there are no words to describe how bad it is when Regina Mills, former Evil Queen and current mayor -- not to mention technically Emma's boss comes in on the tail end of a conversation between Emma and Ruby — a conversation the Sheriff would do just about anything to make sure the Mayor never learns about.</p><p>The best Emma can come up with to hide the true topic is an impromptu plan for a camping trip with Henry.</p><p>Too bad Regina invites herself along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Never Trust a Wolf

“Black. Silk.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

Ruby looked down at the half empty mug Emma pushed across the counter, then at the sole occupant sitting at the table on the far side of the diner. The same occupant her friend had been sneaking peaks with far less subtlety than the blonde thought she was pulling off. She arched an eyebrow as she turned to grab the coffee pot off its burner and kept it arched as she turned back, paying more attention to Emma than the cup as she slowly topped it off. “Something lacy. Probably see-through. She was never really shy about showing off her goods.”

“Extra cream.” Emma mumbled.

Emma tilted her head.

Emma turned her head.

“What did you just-”

“Regina’s underwear. That is what you’ve been trying to figure out for the last half hour, isn’t it?”

Emma’s eye went wide and if she hadn't finished her second bearclaw — she hadn't noticed when she finished the first, Ruby simply swapping her empty plate for a full one — she would have choked on it as she fired a quick glance towards Storybrooke's mayor. Her shoulders sagged in relief at the sight of Regina seemingly oblivious to the near suicidal speculation happening barely more than a dozen feet away from her. Emma turned back, her relief replaced with a glare as she leaned over the counter. 

“Are you freaking nuts?” She hissed under her breath. “Do you have any idea what she’d do to you- to me if she heard you say that.”

Ruby shot Regina a brief glance of her own and leaned in closer to the sheriff, her smile undiminished by Emma’s agitation. “Mmhmm…" She hummed suggestively. "And I noticed that you didn’t deny that that’s what you were doing either.”

Emma’s face blanked for several seconds before she mustered another glare. “I shouldn’t have to. Why would you even think I was trying to imagine Regina’s-”

“Imagine my what?"

Ruby had to turn her head to the side to keep herself from laughing at the sight of Emma's panic frozen face.

Emma peeked out the corner of her eye to see a familiar hand resting atop a five dollar bill on the counter next to her elbow

She closed her eyes.

She took a breath.

"Your-”

Emma’s eyes snapped open. "Ruby!“

”-plans for the weekend.“ The waitress finished, quickly taking the cash and escaping to the other end of the counter to file it away in the cash register.

"I see.” Regina replied, her own eyebrow raised at the tell-tale shaking of Ruby's shoulders, her well manicured beating out a steady rat-a-tat-tat as she waited for her change.

“Well?”

Emma jumped. She wondered how long it would be before Regina would stop smirking about it.

“Miss Swan?”

“Yes?”

“Are you going to tell me why you were curious about my weekend plans?”

“… Uh-”

“And I know manners aren’t your strong suit but I’d appreciate it if you could look at me while we hold a conversation.”

_Yeah, Ruby was definitely going to pay for this later._

Emma turned her stool to face the older woman.

"I meant my face, Miss Swan." 

Emma's eyes away from the open neck line of Regina’s top but not before she heard the snicker from her soon to be ex friend.

_So going to pay_

“Henry.” She blurted out far louder than she’d meant to. “I- Henry. I was thinking of taking Henry out camping this weekend and wanted to know if you had anything planned.”

Regina’s dark brown eyes held Emma’s blend of green and blue — appearing more of the latter at the moment thanks to the shirt Emma had apparently appropriated from her closet. 

Emma could hear her heart beat thumping in her ears so loudly she was starting to wonder if it had drowned out Regina’s reply when the older woman finally spoke.

"And just when were you planning to mention these plans to drag my son into the woods?"

"Wha-uh..." Emma glanced past Regina at the diner's large windows and completely failed to see anything more note worthy than Archie and Pongo walking past. The cricket didn't even have the decency to have the dog off leash so that Emma could claim official police business and run out side — and away from Regina's piercing gaze — long enough to write up a ticket.

"So I can assume by your silence that you had no intention of informing me?"

The edge to Regina's voice sparked Emma's mouth into action before her brain had time to think of a response. "No." Her eyebrows arched as she scrambled to amend her answer. "I mean no I was going to tell you, not no I wasn't. I was going to tell you today in fact when I dropped off last weeks paperwork at your office." Emma managed to suppress a wince over the fact that she now had to finish up the small mountain of forms still resting undisturbed in her in-tray.

Regina's lips thinned for several moments before curling into a smile. “I see. And no, I don’t”

“Oh… okay then. Umm… In that case I’ll-”

“You can pick us up at six on Friday. That should give Henry enough time to finish his homework.”

“… Us?”

“Yes. Us. No offence, Miss Swan, but while I’m sure your street smarts are adequate, I have my doubts about your wood-lore so I will be joining you.”

“Hey. I ca-.”

“Six pm, Miss Swan?”

Emma nodded. Regina did the same.

“Try not to be late.”

"Your change, Madam Mayor."

Regina took the handful of coins, turned, and left without another word.

Several moments passed before Emma — still staring at the front door — asked, “What just happened?”

“I think somebody just got herself a date.”

“That's it!” Emma spun around on her stool to find a completely unapologetic Ruby smiling back at her.

“So we agree? Shame about the kid coming along though, that’s gonna be a bit of a coc-”

“Ruby!”

Both women turned to find Granny’s upper half poked through the doorway to the kitchen.

“In case you forgot, we’re trying to run a business here and I need your help with the fryer.”

Ruby turned her head and gave a shrug that somehow managed to be both apologetic and completely lacking in sincerity.

Emma grabbed her wrist before Ruby could make good her escape. “We'll pick this up later.”

“I’ll bring the tequila.” Ruby winked, then pulled her hand free of Emma’s grip and raced towards the kitchen.

Emma looked over her shoulder at the front door then back at her refilled and still steaming hot cup of coffee, sans cream. With a sigh she dug out a couple of ones from her pocket and left them next to the mug before heading outside. She’d have to text Henry and make sure he didn't blow her cover. And ask David if he had any camping gear she could borrow… and where you could go camping around this place… and then there’d be supplies to buy and-

“Miss Swan?”

Emma pulled up short and turned towards the voice in time to see Regina closing the gap between them.

“Regina? Wha-”

“There was one last thing I wanted you to keep in mind for our camping trip.”

“Oh? What’s that.”

The brunette stepped closer, pressed her cheek against Emma’s, and whispered. “They’re red, apple red, not black. But otherwise your friend was right.”

Forget the jumping. No smirk would ever come close to the one Regina wore as she turned away from Emma.

“Six pm. Don’t be late.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 18 05 2015
> 
> This whole story started with those two little words popping into my head and snowballed from there. I blame lack of sleep.
> 
> Revised: 07 06 2016 - Minor editorial changes


	2. Hair of the Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misery loves company... and Tequila. Emma (reluctantly) talks to the only person who knows what (and who) is really eating her. Unfortunately it's also the same person who got her into this mess to begin with.
> 
> Damn Ruby.

“Awwm c'mon Ems, you cant still be mad about that?” Ruby sighed she flopped back onto the couch, her full-to-the-brim shotglass clutched between thumb and index finger not losing a drop in the process.

"That? Rubes, you practically outed me to Regina. Regina!” Emma reached for the half empty bottle of tequila and pulled it to her chest.

Ruby smirked at Emma from behind the rim of her drink. “So you admit there’s something to out?”

Emma's sock clad foot kicked out as her friend tossed the amber liquor into her open mouth and she let out a frustrated growl when the waitress still didn’t spill any of it. “Stupid wolf powers.” She grumbled.

“Hey, do you see a tail?” Ruby taunted, rolling her hips to one side to expose her backside to Emma, the tight denim hugging Ruby's curves left little room to hide anything more substantial than panty-lines — which were noticeable in this case only for their absence. “No? Then shut it.” She rolled back. “Or don’t. You’re the one who said this conversation wasn’t over so conversate already.”

“Conversate isn’t a word.”

“You sound like your girlfriend.” Ruby reached for the bottle only to have Emma pull it away, the blonde's arm extended above her head to keep it as far away from the other woman as she could without getting off the couch.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

Ruby rolled her eyes at Emma’s petulant tone and settled back into her spot. She ran her finger around the inside of her glass and sucked it clean. “Not with that attitude she isn’t.”

Another kick, this one against her thigh, caused Ruby to rock in her seat but earned Emma only an indifferent look. “I do not feel that way about Regina.”

“Mmhmm, sure. So all the eye sex you two have is purely platonic, then?”

“We do not-”

“Ems.” Ruby tilted her head forward, eyebrows raised in skepticism.

Emma turned her head to the side as she brought the bottle to her mouth and took a long pull of the contents, her face scrunched at the sharp taste before she tucked her chin against her chest. Both rose and fell with a slow, deep breath. “We don’t.”

Ruby sighed, then made another grab for the tequila – ignoring Emma’s whimpered protest as she succeeded this time.

“So then what do you call all those looks you keep giving each other?”

“… Fighting.”

Ruby took a swing from the bottle before she put it back in Emma’s outstretched hand. “Then you might want to bring some sunglasses on your little camping trip cause no kid wants to walk in on their parents ‘fighting’.”

“Fuck off.”

“Keep hogging the booze like that and I just might.”

“Good.”

“Fine.” Ruby pushed herself off the couch, tugged the hem of her skirt into place, then headed for the door. Her hand about to close around the handle when Emma called her back.

“Wait." A sigh blew past Emma's lips. "Look, stay okay. Just… can we talk about something else.”

Ruby hide her smile before she turned back to face her friend. “Fine. But I have one more thing I want to say first-”

“Rubes.” Emma's protest lacked her earlier conviction.

“Just this one thing and then we can talk about anything else. I promise.”

“Fine.” Emma replied in resignation before joining the mouth of the bottle to her own.

Ruby made her way back to the couch and settled into place, all the while feeling Emma’s slightly unfocused eyes tracking her. “I was there for your Mom and Dad’s story, Ems, Pretty much from the start and what I saw was this; two people who started off fighting like cats and dogs, who couldn’t help sniping at each other every time they talked, but who were always there for each other when the other one needed them to be… even before they could admit to each other how they really felt.” She arched an eyebrow as she held her eyes on Emma’s. “Sound like anyone you know?”

Emma dug her feet into the cushions and pushed herself up until she was sitting against the arm of the couch she’d been using for a headrest, the tequila bottle tucked between her hip and the back of the couch. “Rubes?”

“Yeah, Ems?”

“You’re a real bitch.”

“Born and raised, Princess.”

Emma couldn’t hold back the bark of laughter that slipped past her lips but she did manage to cut it short, unlike the smile that came with it. “Raise your self into the kitchen and grab us another bottle and some more limes.”

“That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said all night.” Ruby said as she made her way towards the bag of supplies she’d left on the counter. 

“And she tried to kill me, remember. Like, a lot.”

“Please,” Ruby pulled out two limes and the second of three bottles she’d brought with her then looked around for the knife they’d used to cut up the first lime. “At least she hasn’t eaten you.” The brunette shot a cheeky grin at Emma. “Yet.”

She was still laughing as the pillow sailed past her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 18 05 2015 (18th, May)
> 
> Revised: 07 06 2016 (7th, June) - Minor Editorial changes


	3. Diner and Dash

“Camping?”

“What, you don’t like camping?” Emma asked, matching Henry’s skeptical expression with one of her own though the effect was diminished by the sunglasses hiding her eyes.

“Mom’s not exactly the camping type.”

“Yeah, well-” Emma turned her head, the corners of her mouth dipping briefly as she watched a far-too-chipper-after-a-night-of-tequila-and-teasing Ruby chatting with a customer. “-Your mom invited herself along so maybe she’s changed her type.”

“So… you don’t want her to come?” Henry watched his mother as he swirled his finger through the cinnamon speckled whip cream floating on top of his hot cocoa.

“That’s not what I said.” Emma shuffled down in her seat so that she could rest her head against the back of their booth and brought a hand up to massage her temple.

“Then you do want her to come?”

Emma stifled a groan as she pulled her head up so she could l. “That’s not what I said either, kid.”

“So what do you-”

“Henry!” Emma snapped, regretting it even before the hurt showed on her son’s face. “I-” she leaned forward, arms folded on the table. “I’m sorry, Henry. I’m not mad at you I just…had a long night” She pulled off her sunglasses. “I’m sorry, okay?”

Henry held her eyes and Emma had to fight not to smile at how much his appraising look reminded him of Regina, and then had to fight not to frown as the comparison passed through her thoughts.

“Can I have another cookie?”

That was definitely from her side of the family. “Sure, just don’t tell your mom.”

“Don’t tell me what, Miss Swan?”

Emma bit down hard on her lip to keep the expletive racing for open air from escaping. The plastic frame of her shades creaking against her palm as her hand tightened in surprise.

“Henry?”

The young boy looked between his mothers before settling on a spot just above Regina’s chin. “Nothing. Just… camping stuff.”

“I see.” Regina’s tone implying just that and Emma and Henry exchanged a guilty glance.

“Henry, why don’t you go ask Miss Lucas for that cookie while I have a word with Emma.”

The pair seated at the booth exchanged another glance; Henry’s surprise at Regina allowing him cookie after being caught out in a lie and Emma’s suspicion mixed with apprehension over what the older woman wanted to say. But Henry wasn’t about to pass up his good fortune and with a quick “Thanks mom.” he abandoned Emma to her fate.

_The traitor._

“Regina, it’s just a cookie.”

“What you call a cookie, I call ‘junk food’” Regina replied smoothly as she slipped into the seat opposite Emma. “But your lack of concern for providing our son with a nutritious and healthy diet is not what I wish to speak to you about.”

“Oh.” Emma said, a hint of hopefulness in her voice as she straightened in her seat. 

“Yet.”

Emma swallowed her sigh and wished she’d kept her sunglasses on as Regina’s eyes burrowed into her own. She felt like scolded toddler about to be sent to her room and her slumped position help Emma feel any less so. She pushed herself up for what little it would help and drop her gaze to her own half finished mug of now lukewarm black coffee. At least Regina wouldn’t be able to tell how much sugar Emma had added. She peeked up at the other woman. Or maybe she could.

Emma took a large mouthful of the overly-sweet brew and cast a nonchalant glance to check on Henry’s progress only to find him deep in conversation with Ruby.

The waitress met Emma’s eye and winked before turning back to Henry.

_Traitors._

“Miss Swan.”

“Emma. If you’re going to lecture me I’d prefer if you at least use my first name while doing it.”

“I have no intention of lecturing you.”

“Yet.” Emma muttered under her breath before she took another sip. She turned back to Regina to find herself the recipient of reproachful look from the other woman but, for a moment, Emma could have sworn there was something else in Regina’s expression.

“If you’re quite done sulking, _Emma _, there are several areas we need to cover before our camping trip this weekend.”__

“You know you don’t have to come, right. I can look after the kid for a few nights without you there to make sure I don’t screw up.”

There it was again. Barely a flicker. Blink and you’d miss it. But it had been real. It wasn’t just some trick of the light or the remnants of her hang-over, Emma was sure of that, but she was still no closer to knowing what it was, let along what it meant.

“As I told you yesterday, Miss Swan, I’m sure you’re adequately capable of looking after my son within the confines of your parents apartment but to my knowledge, the closest thing you’ve had to any camping experience was trekking through the enchanted forest with your mother there to assist you. And if my memory of Henry’s version of your journey serves, it was a good thing she was or you’d be lining the inside of an ogre’s stomach right now so forgive me if I feel better joining you on your impromptu camping trip which you should have consulted with me about far earlier.”

Emma leaned back in her seat, annoyance replacing anxiety as Regina bluntly stated her doubts. “Last I looked, the woods around here were pretty light on ogres." she shot back only for her tongue to continue on without her. "What's got your panties in a bunch?”

“My panties, Miss Swan, are none of your concern.” Regina shot back as she got to her feet.“

"That’s not what you said yesterday.” Emma’s mouth — still operating on auto-pilot — fired in return.

_Stupid traitor mouth._

“Mom?”

Both woman turned to their son.

“The camping trip is off, Henry. It’s time to go home.”

“But-”

“Now, Henry. You need to do your homework and then have a proper meal.”

“Regina-”

“Good day Miss Swan.”

Emma sighed, waving off Henry’s protest with a nod of her head. “Listen to your mom, kid. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Henry gave Emma a look she knew all to well and one that reminded her once again of the woman now standing as far from her as possible while still being close enough to intercede if the need arose. Emma responded with a tilt of her head and a shrug before Henry darted in for a quick hug then shuffled past Regina on his way to the diner’s front door.

“Regina.” Emma said softly as the other woman turned to follow Henry.

There’s nothing you can say that will make me change my mind, Miss Swan.“

"I wasn’t planning to try.”

Emma watched Regina’s shoulders tense and fingers of the hand by her side flex several times before the brunette turned around to face her. “Make it brief, I don’t want to keep Henry waiting.”

“I’m sorry.”

Regina was already turning around to leave by the time the scoff left her mouth. “Apologies mean little, Miss Swan, without actions to back them up.”

Once again, her mouth acted without consulting with her brain. “Dinner.”

Regina’s stride stopped short and Emma’s eyes went wide as her ears registered what she'd said.

“I-”

“And why would I want to go to dinner with you?” Regina slowly turned her head, looking over her shoulder at Emma.

“Uhm…”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Wait.”

Regina turned back to the booth, her hands resting on the edge of the table as she leaned towards Emma. “If this has anything to do with my… undergarments, rest assured, Emma, that my comments yesterday were only to point out both the the absurdity and completely lack of discretion involved in your conversation with Miss Lucas. Nothing more.”

Emma swallowed, her eyes unconsciously lingering on Regina’s lips as she spoke. “What? No.” She denied, bringing her eyes up to find Regina’s. “Look, that was just Ruby being Ruby," Emma's gaze flicked over to her so-called friend, "and I plan to make it very clear to her that it better not happen again but believe me, I’ve got no interest at all in your… undergarments. I just- look whatever issues you have with me don’t need to affect Henry so I figured we could hash out our problems over dinner. It'll even be my treat to prove that I’m really sorry for not checking with you first about going camping.”

The corners of Regina’s mouth twitched. “I have a better idea, or at least one that will provide us some degree of privacy and a meal that doesn't involve paper napkins; your parents will watch Henry for the night, I’ll cook because, honestly, I’m not sure you know what real food looks like let alone how to make it, and we can 'hash out our problems’ without half the town knowing about it the next day.”

Emma shoved her hands into her pocket. “Okay?”

“Good.” Regina dusted her hands together as she stood up. “And as for proving your intentions towards me… I’ll think of something suitable and share it with you after our meal.”

“Uh, sounds good.”

“Friday, make it seven, and do make sure your Parent’s are aware of their role ahead of time.” Regina turned and walked away before Emma could add anything to the conversation.

She was still looking at the door when Ruby slipped into the booth.

“That was-”

“Don’t. Just don’t.” Emma turned to Ruby and frowned at the poorly concealed smile playing on the waitress’ lips. “This isn’t funny, Ruby.”

“No, it’s not. You’re right. This is very serious.”

“Sarcasm isn’t any better.”

“Mmhmm.” Ruby nodded her head in agreement as she pulled Henry’s forgotten cocoa towards her. “Maybe you can ask Regina to give me some lessons during your date.”

“Yeah like she’d-” Emma snapped up in her seat. “My what?”

“Your no-at-all-funny, very serious, and in no way sarcastic, date.”

Emma stared at Ruby for several seconds then dropped her head drop back against the booth and groaned.

“I really hate you right now.”

“Mmhmm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 18 05 2015 (18th, May)
> 
> Revised: 07 06 2016 (7th, June)
> 
> Revised: 26 08 1016 (26th, August)  
> — Typos


	4. Top Shelf - Where both the best and the most dangerous things are kept

_Red or white? Red or white?_

_Why couldn’t Regina be a beer person?_

“Ah, Miss Swan. Just the woman I was hoping to meet.”

Emma held back a sigh and squared her shoulders before she turned towards the speaker. “What do you want, Gold, I’m really not in the mood.”

“Rest assured, Dearie, this will only take a moment of your time. In fact, I may even be able to help you before we part ways.”

“Uh-huh.” Emma said, making no effort to mask the doubt in her voice. “And what’s this ‘help’ going to cost me?”

“Consider it on the house.”

“How about you tell me what you want before I _consider_ walking away.” Emma said dryly as she turned back to the array of bottles she'd been studying before Gold's arrival.

Rumple tsk-ed, the hand on his cane waving a finger at her in disapproval. “You wound me, Miss Swan. Here I am trying offer my assistance free of charge-” He leaned in towards Emma. “-an offer few get, might I add, in fact, you’d be the first — and what do I get for my troubles? Scorn and derision.”

Already anxious about dinner with Regina, Emma had even less patience for Gold's innocent act than usual —which was never much to begin with— and the look she gave him made that clear. "Get to the point."

Gold, unaffected by Emma's apparent disinterest in dragging out their conversation, grinned back at her. "My point, Dearie, is that I can help you come to a decision about our beloved Mayor."

Emma's whole body tensed. “What does Regina have to do with this?”

“Come, come, Miss Swan, didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to lie-" Gold tilted his head to the side as he gazed at a point just above Emma's right shoulder, seemingly lost in thought. "Come to think of it, I guess she didn't." He turned a too wide grin her way as he locked eyes with her once more. "Still, it’s not like both of us don’t already know what I’m talking about so why bother beating around the bush about it.” Rumple leaned back, both hands resting on his cane. "Especially with you in such a rush to get to dinner."

The way his smile grew even more did little to calm her suspicions or her rising concern. Emma's eyes narrowed. “How-”

Rumple waved a hand as he cut her off. “That’s inconsequential. The important thing is that I know" Gold looked around to make sure they had the aisle to themselves before leaning towards Emma. "And what’s more, I approve.”

It was Emma’s turn to look around them. Finding no one —she wasn't sure if she should be happy about that or not— she turned back to Rumple to find Henry’s grandfather examining a bottle of wine he’d pulled from the nearby shelf.

A vaguely disappointed sneer curled his lip as he put the bottle back and picked up another, the sneer quickly turning into a small smile as he read the label. “Perfect.” He held the bottle out for Emma to take, already reaching for another as he released the first, leaving Emma to make a frantic grab before the glass container shattered against the floor.

“What the-”

“Regina, Dearie. Do try to keep up. I admit you’re unlikely to find something to match her refined palate-” He paused in his search to turn a proud grin towards Emma, “-taught her myself. Can’t have a Queen swilling anything less than the best now, can we?.” He turned back to the rack, once again dropping the bottle in his hand for Emma to catch as he picked up another. “But after thirty years with nothing but this to choose from I’m sure sec-" his nose wrinkled, "third best will have to do.”

“Look, I don’t know what your game is but I’m not playing it and neither is Regina.” Emma went to put the two bottles she held back on the rack only to find Rumple’s cane blocking the shelf.

“What game, Miss Swan? My only hope that both you and Regina find your happily ever afters.” His voice as much as his words caught Emma’s attention. It was the first time she’d ever heard him sound sincere and the first time her lie detector hadn’t buzzed with each word out of his mouth.

“Okay, say I believe you… what does finding Regina’s favourite wine have to do with any of that.”

“Why, true love of course.” Rumple’s hands moved in the traditional 'ta-da’ gesture. “Although even I admit this is one of the stranger cases I’ve ever come across. Still, not completely surprising.”

“Wha- Are you-” Emma gave another frantic look around for eavesdroppers before leaning in close to Rumple to hiss, “Regina is not my true love.”

“Are you absolutely sure of that, Dearie?”

The 'yes’ caught in her throat as she looked into his eyes.

“That’s what I thought.” Rumple said softly, then slipped a third bottle on top of the two still in Emma’s arms. “Regina…” He stepped back, breaking eye contact but not before Emma saw something flicker behind the dark, penetrating brown of his stare. “She’ll resist, Emma. As much as she’ll want to let you in, she’ll fight tooth and nail to keep you out – something else I taught her.” A rueful smile briefly tugged at his lips. “With no small amount of assistance from her mother."

He took a deep breath, stepped back, and ran his free hand through his hair and just like that the Rumple Emma knew and loathed was back, smug grin an all.

"Do enjoy your date, Dearie, and give her Royal Highness my best when you see her.”

Emma watched him round the far end of the aisle and disappear from view before looking at the bottles he’s selected. There was every reason not to trust him –and then some… and yet. Emma looked back down the aisle, the memory of the unidentifiable flicker she’d seen on Regina's face back in the diner played again in her mind.

She turned back to the rack, quickly scanned the prices for each bottle, tallied up the total in her head and compared it to the sum in her wallet.

Regina wasn’t her true love, no one could ever believe that —not even Gold— he was just trying to mess with her head for whatever twisted reason he had this week. But... she was planning to bring a bottle with her anyway and a little peace offering couldn’t hurt. And he did know Regina better than she did- well, longer anyway. Maybe three wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 18 05 2015 (18th, May)
> 
> Revised: 08 06 2016 (8th, June) - Minor editorial changes
> 
> Revised: 17 11 2017 (17th, November) - Moderate content adjustment/corrections
> 
> Revised: 19 11 2017 (19th, November) - minor content adjustment/corrections.
> 
> Didn't realize how short this chapter was until just now. May have to revise it again (Might still have to (19/11/17)


	5. Revenge May be Better Cold, But Dinner is Best Served Hot.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's date night... or not as Emma heads over to Regina's for dinner. One that hopefully won't end with anyone dead or poisoned. 
> 
> Or worse, embarrassed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said in the comments on the last chapter, this is a bit more angst-y than the past few (and possibly longer, I haven't checked) but the story took this turn and I had to follow it. Future chapters should (hopefully) be a little more comical in nature... or at least what passes for comedy in my brain. 
> 
> Enjoy.

It shouldn't be this hard. Seriously. As far as life altering decisions went, this was barely a blip. So why the hell was it taking her so long to make?

Emma stared at the bag sitting on the seat next to her, the necks of the three bottle wine the she — well, technically Gold — had picked out peaking out from the crinkled, beige paper sack. The same damned sack she'd been staring at for the last ten minutes.

Why was it this hard? It was a simple choice. It should be a simple choice. It was literally less complicated than paper or plastic. It was paper or no paper. Would Regina even care if she showed up on her doorstep with expensive — for Emma anyway — wine in a cheap paper bag?

This was all Gold's fault. He'd gotten into her head and now he was throwing off her entire game.

... Not that Emma need to have any game because whatever this was, this dinner with Regina, one thing it sure as hell wasn't was a da-

"Gyah!" Emma cried out, her seat-belt dug into her waist as her hips jolted off her seat in surprise when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She groaned in pain, one hand freeing her belt as she fumbled for her cell with the other. She shot a look down the block as she settled back into her seat, half expecting to find Regina standing at the end of her walk with that look of equal parts disappointment and exasperation that always seemed to grace her otherwise gorgeous face whenever she was dealing with Emma... or Snow.

Wait, had she just thought of Regina's face as gor-

"Dammit!" Emma nearly dropped her phone as it buzzed again quickly followed by a third time before her fumbling hands closed tight around it. She closed her eyes, blew out a breath, then looked at the screen.

_RED: good luck with your date_

_RED: and remember, good girls don't give it up on the first date_

_RED: And since you're dating the Evil Queen, someone's getting lucky tonight_

A low growl rumbled in Emma's throat as she read Ruby's texts. As if Gold screwing with her wasn't bad enough. First thing tomorrow she was going to have a talk with Granny about getting that girl spayed.

_: NOT A DATE AND NOT FUNNY!!!_

Emma stabbed send then started to shove her phone into her coat pocket, then stopped. A few seconds later, phone turned off to avoid any more of Ruby's help and stuffed in her pocket, she turned back to the passenger seat and her earlier quandary.

Or tried to.

"Dammit Rubes!" She cursed under her breath, half tempted to turn her phone back on so that she could call Regina and give her some excuse why she couldn't make it to dinner. Preferably one that didn't include the images she was trying very hard not to allow into her brain.

But she couldn't call off their dinner. For one, Ruby would only take it as proof that Emma had feelings for the Mayor and become an even bigger pain in the ass than she already was. For another, she wouldn't give Gold the satisfaction of knowing he'd gotten to her. And he would. The same way he'd know she was supposed to be hooking up with Regina tonight.

Wait. No. Not hooking! Meeting. She was meeting up with Regina... For dinner... And nothing more.

Emma nodded, grabbed the bag of wine and clutched it to her chest with one arm as she climbed out of her car.

She could do this. She could totally do this. She'd faced down dragons; okay, one dragon but that was still pretty bad-ass. She could make it through one dinner with her son's other mother without the romantic delusions of her friend or the no doubt nefarious intrusions by her... whatever the hell Gold was, getting in the way of their evening.

Now all she had to do was convince her feet of that.

Why had she parked so far away, again?

* * *

"Here." Emma said a little more bluntly than she'd intended as she thrust the bag of wine towards Regina almost as soon as the older woman had opened her door.

Regina made no move to accept the offering, instead arching one eyebrow as she took in the contents with a judgmental eye before she turned her gaze on Emma.

"Where you expecting guests, Miss Swan? Because if so, I would like to point out that it's typically considered rude to invite someone over for dinner when you aren't the host."

"What?" Emma asked, as confused by Regina's almost playful tone as she was her words.

"Well it's that or you're planning to get me drunk, Miss Swan, so which is it?"

Another 'What' framed itself behind Emma's lips before she followed Regina's eyes as they turned once more to the bag still in her arms.

_Oh._

_Shit!_

_Three bottles was overkill for just the two of them._

_Damn Gold!_

"I, uh, I wasn't sure what you liked" she lied, deciding that the less said about the Dark one's involvement, the better. Not least because it meant fewer reasons for her to share the details of her conversation with Rumple.

"I'd be surprised if you did." Regina replied as she turned around and headed back towards her kitchen, trusting Emma to follow suit.

Which Emma did after a few seconds of puzzling over whether or not she'd just been insulted. In case she had, she used her foot to kick the door shut behind her. In case she hadn't, she kicked it gently.

Either way, the potential slight was forgotten as she followed in Regina's high-heeled footsteps.

"Mmmm. Something smells good."

"Why thank you, dear." Regina replied, her lips curled into a knowing smile. "Though complimenting my scent does support the theory that you have an ulterior motive which brings us back to the... copious amount of wine you brought with you and he question or your intentions for the evening."

Emma nearly tripped over her own feet as she skidded to a halt and stammered in search of a reply.

Regina lasted only a few seconds before she burst out laughing. "Really, Dear. You're too easy tonight. Tell me, have I finally managed to terrify you into submission or has something else beat me too it?"

Emma scowled back at Regina's grinning face as she put the paper bag down on the island that took up the centre of the kitchen. "Sorry to disappoint, your Majesty, but it's less terror and more surprise at finding out you have a sense of humour."

There it was again. That flicker of something in the older woman's features. Only this time Emma thought she recognized part of it. Hurt.

_Shit!_

Regina spoke before Emma could muster an apology. "Given my response to your inappropriate conversation with Miss Lucas over the nature of my intimate apparel, one would think the existence of my sense of humour would already be confirmed." She turned towards the stove — coincidentally turning her back to Emma in the process — and slowly but firmly stirred the contents of the larger of the pots sitting on the burners.

Emma rocked back and forth on her heels until the silence got too loud to ignore. "Need any help anything?"

Regina paused mid stir then pulled the wooden spoon from her creation, a light breath cooling the rich, deep red sauce before she took a quick sample.

"The wine. You can open the wine and let it breath. Not that I expect it will help improve the quality much but every little bit helps.

Emma swallowed the instinctive urge to defend herself against Regina's not so subtle dig as much because she didn't want to start a fight as because doing so would risk bring Gold into the conversation and he'd already had too much of a presence as it was. Instead a simple "Right" was her only reply as she pulled a bottle at random from the bag and placed it on the counter before looking around the kitchen for several seconds.

"Uhm, Regina-"

A twirl of the fingers of Regina's free hand and a small swirl of purple smoke atop the counter next to the blonde cut off Emma's question before she could finish it. She looked down at the freshly conjured corkscrew that appeared as the smoke dissipated then glanced over at her host before she picked it up.

"Thanks."

A neutral hum from Regina's direction was her only reply.

The cork pulled free from the bottle with a pop that sounded even louder against the complete lack of conversation going on.

_Yeah, tonight wasn't going to be awkward at all._

"Glasses are in the cupboard by the sink."

Another "Thanks" left Emma's mouth as she made her way across the kitchen and pulled out a pair of no doubt incredibly expensive — even by Regina's standards — crystal glasses.

Good. Maybe she'd be too worried about breaking them to worry about anything else.

"Would your rather eat in here or the dining room?"

Emma placed the glasses next to the open bottle, her shrug unnoticed by Regina who was still focused on her cooking. "Uh, either is good with me I guess."

"Then pick one, Miss Swan."

_Yep, totally not awkward at all._

"Here's good... Unless you'd ra-"

"Oh for the love of-" Regina snapped before she stopped herself. She took a deep breath before she turned around to face Emma, her arms crossed over her chest. "Do you even want to be here."

"I- yes." Emma replied, for once glad that her mouth took over while her brain tried to catch up. Until it added to her reply that is. "Why would you think I didn't?"

Regina's eyebrows did that thing they did whenever she was dealing with someone who had somehow exceeded even her expectations of how idiotic they could be. Emma had seen her look at Snow that way often enough to recognize it even if she hadn't been the recipient herself more times than she wanted to admit. "You arrive late, you arrive bearing enough liquor to drink yourself into a stupor, you couldn't be more wooden if you were that damned puppet. Take your pick. If the only reason you are here is to right whatever slight you think you've done me, I'd much rather eat alone as I've had enough of you Charmings bumbling around in my life trying to make things right."

The brunette's chest heaved with several quick breaths before Regina calmly brushed her hair from her brow then straightened her posture.

Emma gave a single slow nod of her head as she pulled her lips over her teeth. This was one time she wasn't going to let her mouth get ahead of her.

Regina looked down as she fussed with the flounce of her blouse before resting her hands on her hips. Her head gave an imperious flick as she looked up. "Well." She asked, though the lonely word sounded more demand than query to Emma's ears.

"... I want to be here."

Regina's lips pressed together for several heartbeats before she turned back to the stove with a huffed breath. "Plates are in the cabinet next to the glasses, cutlery is in the drawer there." Her left hand pointed out the compartment in question as her right grasped the spoon and went back to stirring her sauce.

Emma swallowed a sigh as she crossed the kitchen to gather the dishes; quickly and quietly arranging them on opposite sides of the island with the open bottle of wine between them.

"Step back dear, I'll never hear the end of it from your mother if I burn you." Regina instructed. 

Emma stood back, hands in her back pockets, and watched the Regina make several trips between stove and island, each with a separate pot or pan in hand, as she artfully assembled their meals on the waiting plates.

"Smel- looks delicious."

A single soft laugh slipped from Regina's throat as she returned the last pot back to the stove. "Thank you. She picked up the open bottle and the corners of Emma's mouth flickered upwards at the small nod of approval Regina gave before she put the bottle back down and peered into the bag at the others. "I'm impressed, dear. I was half expecting it to come in a box.

Emma's fledgling smile faltered.

"Yeah, well... Beginners luck I guess."

"Some how I doubt this is the first time you've bought wine." Regina said as she picked up the open bottle and expertly poured half a glass's worth into her own goblet before doing the same to Emma's.

"More of a Tequila and beer girl." Emma picked up her cup with both hands.

"Not together, I hope."

A guilty flush tinted Emma's cheeks, the blush only darkening further as she mentally chastised herself for feeling guilty in the first place.

Regina, for reasons Emma was too thankful to question, said nothing about the younger woman's lack of reply or crimson hue. Instead, she raised her glass and said, "To getting through the night."

No wonder Regina had been such a powerful Queen. She had a knack for knowing just what to say. Something Emma envied even as she chuckled at Regina's toast.

"To getting through the night" Emma repeated, gently tapping the rim of her glass against Regina's.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to write down the instructions?"

"Yes." Emma said as she struggled to keep hold of the numerous tupperware containers — actual name brand tupperware and not the 5 for a dollar knock-offs at Snow's place — in her arms. "I got it. And if I need to, I can always just call you, right?"

"If you're looking for an excuse to call me, I'd much rather one that doesn't risk the integrity of my cooking."

Emma opened her mouth to apologize only for her lips to curl into a smile to match the one on Regina's face. "Relax, if there's one thing I know it's how to work a microwave."

"Yes, so I've heard from Henry." Regina replied, her grin shifting ever so slightly into a smirk.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Whatever the kid told you is a flat out lie."

"I'm sure it isn't. Regina said as she reached out to steady the stack of leftovers before it slipped from Emma's grasp. "Why don't I help you get this to your car." Her eyes scanned the street in front of her house before her eyebrows scrunched together. "You did bring your car, didn't you?"

Emma's cheeks tinted again, this time with added fuel from her 3 and half glasses of wine; Gold sure knew how to pick them and Regina's cooking had only been further enhanced by his selections. "Uh, yeah. I... I parked up the street."

Regina eyed the several car lengths of empty space that filled the curbside in front of her gate but said nothing. At least nothing about Emma's choice in parking. "All the more reason to help you get these to your car then."

Before Emma could object, Regina had already taken half of the containers in hand and was half way down the walk before Emma turned around to follow. "You don't really have to-" 

"And yet, I am. I would have thought by now, Emma, that you'd have learned I don't do anything I don't want to, and rarely fail to do the things I do."

Emma faltered for a step before hurrying to catch up. "No, I learned that a long time ago."

"Good, then we can put this conversation behind us and focus on where you parked." Regina opened the gate at the end of her walkway and stepped out onto the sidewalk as she spoke, then cast a glance both up and down the street in search of her own answer.

"That way." Emma said regardless, pointing with her elbow as her hands stayed locked on her half of leftovers.

The two made their way down the street with only the click of Regina's heels and the scrap of Emma's own more practical boots against the concrete beneath their feet.

"Here, let me-" Emma began as she shuffled the containers around to free up her hand so that she could dig her keys out of her pocket only to have both her and Regina's hands suddenly emptied by a swirl of lavender smoke. The blonde peered through the passenger side window to see a matching cloud deposit the containers on the seat inside her car.

"You do that a lot?"

"Magic?"

"No, poofing things into my car."

Regina sighed. Emma's habit of trivializing magic with childish names was both annoying and strangely endearing. Not that she'd admit the latter to Emma or anyone else for that matter. "No dear, I do not make a habit of putting things into your car. For one I'm not sure the rust holding it together could withstand the repeated strain."

"Ha. Ha." Emma replied dryly as she pulled her keys from her pocket only for the both of them to stand around for several seconds. 

"I should probably-"

"Of course." Regina turned without looking in Emma's direction.

"This was... nice."

Regina paused mid stride, then looked back over her shoulder. "It was. I guess the toast worked."

"Yeah." Emma smiled. Once they'd started eating the night had gone fairly smoothly. If there was one thing that could calm even her most frazzled nerves, it was food and Regina was the Queen of good food.

Regina gave a small nod then turned away again.

Emma walked around her car and climbed into the drivers seat, her smile growing a little larger as she thought back over their meal.

*knock* *knock*

Her head snapped up and turned to find Regina standing, bent over, outside her window. Emma quickly rolled down the glass barrier. "Did I forget something."

"Only a reminder to pick Henry and I up next Friday. Six p.m as we agreed."

"What."

"For the camping trip."

"But I-"

"Yes, you did." Regina glanced back towards her house as one hand fiddled with the top button of her blouse. "But I've decided that there's no reason to punish Henry for our earlier disagreement and if tonight has proven anything it's that you and I can co-exist without trying to kill each other so, unless you've already made other plans, I thought we could stick to your original one. Just delayed a week."

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

"Good. We'll see you then. If there's anything in particular you'd like me to bring along, call me."

"Now who's looking for an excuse to talk."

Regina stood straight and Emma quietly cursed herself for ruining the moment.

"Good night, Emma."

The wince that had wrinkled Emma's face smoothed out as mild confusion replaced it. Regina had sounded... friendly. And she'd even used her actual name. Maybe she hadn't screwed things up after all.

"Night Regina."

The Mayor turned one last look towards Emma before disappearing in another swirl of magic. A moment later, the light outside Regina's front door flicked off.

"Show off." Emma said under her breath as she put the Bug into gear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 19 05 2015 (19th, May)
> 
> This came about faster than I expected so don't read too much into the timely-ness of future updates.
> 
> Edited: Stupid typos. Stupid auto-correct.
> 
> Revised: 09 06 2016 (9th, June) - Minor editorial changes
> 
> More than a little embarrassed by the number of typos that still needed to be fixed.


	6. Do They Make An Antacid For Pain-In-The-Butts?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who could have guessed that the hardest part of dinner with Regina would be the morning after?
> 
> Emma. Emma should have guessed that.

"Soooo?"

Emma scowled across the table as the waitress slid into place on the other side of the booth. She knew she should have skipped Granny's that morning but years of living off fast food while staking out some bond jumper's most likely crash pad had trained her body to crave sugar, fat, and grease to start her day and as delicious as Regina's cooking was — and as tempting as the leftovers sitting in her fridge were — Emma needed her fix.

"I'm not talking to you."

Ruby seemed unfazed by Emma's response, at least on a personal level. The wince and accompanying sharp inhale of breath not for herself but in sympathy for her friend's clearly unfortunate night. "That bad, huh?"

Emma leaned forward. "What part of 'I'm not talking to you' do you not get?"

"So was it something you did or something you said?" Ruby ignored Emma's question as she picked up her friend's paper napkin, tore off a corner and began to roll it into a ball between her fingertips.

"What makes you think it was my fault?" Emma snapped, her plan to refuse to engage Ruby in any conversation about last night cast aside by the need to defend herself.

"Well, not that Regina's the easiest person to get along with but out of the both of you, you kinda have the bigger history of putting your foot in your mouth." Ruby reached out to pat Emma's hand. "And I say that with nothing but love, Ems."

"If that's your idea of love, I don't think I could survive your idea of hate." Emma shot back as she crossed her arms and dug her shoulders into the padded back of her seat. "And for your information, last night went great."

Ruby's smile confirmed that Emma had just been played like a violin and the Sheriff let out a heavy sigh.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate you some times?"

"Probably, but we both know you don't mean it."

"Says who?" Emma grumbled under her breath before she pushed her half empty coffee cup across the table. "Fine. But if we're going to do this, I'm going to need more caffeine.

"Coming right up," Ruby said far too cheerfully as she got up to fetch the coffee pot and bring it back to their table, quickly refilling Emma's cup as she slipped back into her spot.

"You were saying" she prompted Emma as the blonde took a slow sip from her mug then poured a tooth rotting-ly generous amount of sugar into her cup and took another sip then placed it back on the waiting saucer.

"I wasn't. You were asking."

"Emma."

"It's the truth." Emma took another sip from her cup, as much to give annoy Ruby as to give herself a few extra seconds to corral her thoughts. "There's really nothing to tell. I went over to her place, we ate a little, we drank a little, we talked a little and then I went home. I know you think there's something going on between us but there isn't. It was just two moms getting together to hash out some issues. That's all." She didn't mention Regina's blow up shortly after her arrival or the phone call she got a few minutes after getting home — half apology for allowing Emma to drive home under the influence and half rebuke for Emma doing the driving. Well, more one fifth to four fifths but still enough of an anomaly from Regina's usual attitude that Emma knew Ruby would latch onto it as a sign the former queen was secretly madly in love with her.

"So you didn't dress up or anything?"

Emma's eyes flicked towards the wide window beside her booth as she took another long pull from her coffee. The forty plus minutes she'd spent rummaging through her closet looking for something up to Regina's standards that wasn't already borrowed from Regina's closet before finally deciding to go with her usual combo of jeans and sweater was another thing she knew her friend would read more into than there was to be read.

"Just the usual."

"Oh, Emma..." Ruby's disappointment was almost physical. "No wonder nothing happened."

"Nothing happened because there's nothing to happen. When will you people get over this idea that I'm hot for Re-" Emma cut herself off and cast a nervous glance around the largely empty diner. "You know who."

Ruby leaned back against her seat with an indecipherable expression on her face. "You people?"

_Shit._

"I didn't mean it like that, Rubes. I wasn't talking about fairy tales or were wo-"

"Who else?"

"...What?"

"Do you really think I thought you meant fairy tale people? News flash, Emma, your mom and dad are Snow White and Prince Charming. You may not have grown up in the Enchanted Forest but you're a fairy tale too. Now stop stalling and dish; who else thinks you're in love with- with you know who?"

_Fuck!_

"I didn't- there isn't-" Emma's protest withered under the knowing — and slightly predatory — stare pointed her way.

"It doesn't make it true, you know. Just 'cause someone else thinks it." She rallied briefly before slumping back into her seat.

"It's not your mom, she'd have told me-"

Emma's spine snapped straight. "You didn't?"

"Relax, your secret is safe with me."

Ruby's smile did nothing to calm Emma. "Regina isn't my secret."

"If you say so."

"Screw this. I have work to do." Emma snapped as she pushed herself out of the booth.

"Ems, wait." Ruby gripped Emma's wrist as she strode past. "I'm sorry."

"Hmmph." Emma replied but made no attempt to pull free.

"I am. Forgive me?"

Against her better judgment, Emma turned to face Ruby only to find herself looking into the textbook definition of a puppy dog pout. She sighed. "Fine. But you owe me and I really do need to get to work."

"Deal." Ruby agreed as she released her hold on the blonde's wrist.

"Emma?" She said before the woman in question could take more than a handful of steps towards the exit.

Emma turned back. "Yeah?"

"Was it Henry?"

"I really hate you."

* * *

For once in her life, Emma was happy to have paperwork. Actually, happy may have been too strong a word but her usual aversion was replaced with a degree of gratitude for the distraction it provided while the dozen free bear-claws that had been Ruby's parting gift only served as a glaze covered reminder of this morning's conversation and the events of the previous night.

Maybe she should write herself up for a DUI and lock herself away for a couple of days of peace and quiet. Not that that would be a practical solution even if she didn't have a camping trip for three to sort out before Friday. Snow would freak out if she learned Emma was locked up and then freak out again when she found out Emma had locked herself up and then Emma would have to deal with a twice freaked Snow alternately sobbing outside her jail cell and demanding Emma explain herself.

And that was before you counted in the fact that with her out of commission, her deputies would have to take over her shifts which meant she'd end up spending even more time with Ruby, not to mention her dad. She could already see that look of earnest hope and disappointment that David always wore whenever he tried to have a heart to heart with her.

No, no jail time for her. Not over this anyway but if certain shapeshifters didn't drop certain topics, she might have to lock herself up to prevent the mother of all bitch-slaps from going down. Pun intended.

Emma sighed as she signed off on another overdue report and added it to the growing pile of finished documentation that was the life blood of bureaucracy, then picked up a half eaten pastry and tore a bite free with her teeth.

Hey, just because they were unfortunate reminders didn't mean they weren't still tasty.

"Sheriff."

Her brow creased as she swallowed the now rock hard lump of bear-claw before turning towards the voice.

"Gold."

"Did you ever wonder why, out of all the people in this town that you deal with on a regular basis, I'm the only one you still refer to by their cursed name."

Emma rose from her seat, not wanting to give her unwanted visitor any advantage. "Must be because I don't make deals with you."

"Clever, Miss Swan, clever. I'm sure with such witty repartee you and Regina had quite the enjoyable evening."

Emma's hand clenched by her side. "What do you want?"

"What makes you think I want anything?" Gold asked, his attempt to twist his features into the image of innocence replaced by a conciliatory shrug when it became clear Emma wasn't buying it. "Worth a try." His hands rested atop his cane. "Consider me a concerned citizen."

"Please, the only thing you're concerned with is whatever helps you."

Rumple brought a hand to his chest. "You wound me, Sheriff."

"Not yet."

Rumple laughed. "Dear me, can I take it from your mood that your dinner with her former majesty was not a rousing success?"

"What do you want, Gold?" Emma demanded, not rising to his bait.

"What everyone wants, Dearie. Even you."

"People to leave me the hell alone?"

Rumple tilted his head to the side. "The heart wants what the heart wants."

"Emma, I-"

Both Rumple and Emma turned towards the latest arrival.

"Miss Blanchard." Gold gave Snow a nod of his head in greeting before he turned back to Emma. "A pleasure as always, Miss Swan." With that he turned and left.

"Emm-"

Emma gestured for her mother to stay silent and held her finger up until the tap of Gold's cane was cut off by the main door closing behind him. Only then did the tension in her shoulders slip away.

"Emma? Are you alright? What did Rumple want?" Snow asked, her concern almost painful to Emma's ears.

But not enough for her stop her from avoiding the question. "Who knows." Emma replied, one last glance cast towards the exit before she returned to her seat. "What do you want." She regretted the abrupt tone of her question the moment the words left her mouth.

_Damn Gold._

"Sorry." Emma mumbled.

"Don't be. We both know what dealing with that man is like... which is why you can talk to me about-"

"There's nothing to talk about... Mom" Emma hoped the honorific would temper any sting cutting her off may have caused Snow. "He showed up only a few seconds before you did." She turned a slightly forced smile towards her Mother. "Guess you scared him off."

Snow laughed as she dropped into the seat opposite her daughter. "If only."

Emma's smile flared briefly before dimming. "So, what brings you here? Business or family?"

"Family." Snow answered, her own smile gaining ground just as it did every time Emma embraced their connection. "Henry asked your father if he had any camping supplies during dinner last night and I thought we could head out to the storage depot to sort through it all.

"Storage Depot?"

Snow's grin flickered. "Yes. He, uhm- after the curse broke and he and Kathryn got their memories back... Well, there wasn't enough room in the loft for all of his stuff so he put most of it into storage."

"Ahh." Emma replied. And she thought her love life was complicated.

"Yes. So... Shall we?"

Emma looked at the stack of waiting forms and reports that despite her progress, was still noticeably higher than the completed pile.

What the hell, hiding out here wasn't working out like she'd hoped and she'd have to sort out camping gear anyway. At least it would keep Gold from pestering her for an hour or so. With the way he'd run off the moment her mom had arrived it looked like her didn't want to share his incredibly misguided thoughts about her and Regina with anyone else so as long as she was with Snow, it was pretty unlikely Gold would arrange to 'accidentally' bump into her.

"Yeah, let's go." Emma got back to her feet and quickly tapped out the code needed to feed the police line to her cell in case any one called then grabbed her coat and pulled it on.

"Great." Snow got to her own feet. "We can stop at Regina's office on the way."

"Sure. Wait. What?"

* * *

"Regina."

"Snow."

Emma forced herself not to fidget as the two mothers in her life worked through their traditional stand-off-as-greeting. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself.

"Emma."

So much for that plan.

"Regina." Emma gave a nod before she noticed the faint smile tugging at the corners of Regina's mouth and added a timid one of her own to match.

"All sobered up, I trust."

"What?"

"Nothing, Mom." Emma gave Regina a quick glare. “Just a little inside joke is all?"

Snow glanced between her former step-mother and her daughter. "Since when did you two have inside jokes?"

"Since we had a son together." Regina cut in. "I take it you're here for Henry's shopping list?"

"Yeah." Emma stepped back into the conversation, eager to steer it in a less awkward direction. "You know you didn't have to do this. I have been camping before."

"As a twelve year old boy? Now that's a story I can't wait to hear around the campfire."

Emma opened her mouth only to shut it again when she felt Snow watching the pair of them. "The list."

"Here." A smirking Regina pulled an envelope from her desk drawer and handed it to Emma. "The list and my share of the costs."

A frown creased Emma's lips as she flicked the flap on the envelope back and thumbed through the cash tucked inside along with the list of needed supplies written in Regina's exacting and exquisite hand. "I can cover it, I don't need your money."

"I'm well aware of your finances, Emma, or have you forgotten that I am the one who signs your paycheck." Regina said as she settled back into her seat. "But let me put your mind at ease, this isn't about your ability or lack thereof to afford what Henry needs, this is about the two of us looking after our son's needs together."

Emma opened her mouth to protest but once again shut it without a word. It was hard to argue against Regina's point and even if she could think of something that wouldn't come across as nitpicking, starting a fight with Regina over who was the more capable mom was a can of worms she didn't want to open. Not to mention her Mom was standing just a few feet away. Watching.

"David and I would like to contribute too, if we can."

Emma and Regina shared a look for several seconds before Regina dropped her gaze to her desk as she pulled a folder towards her. "I'm sure we have everything covered, but if the two of you find anything particularly useful while you're shopping, I leave it to your discretion."

That was the politest 'no' Emma had ever heard and once again she was struck by just how silver a tongue Regina had. Not that she was thinking about Regina's tongue.

Emma coughed as she stuffed the envelope into her pocket. "C'mon." She said as she took Snow by the hand, half leading, half pulling her mother out of Regina's office.

"Emma, wait." Snow pulled her hand free and retraced her steps. "Regina, David and I... we were wondering if you would like to join us for dinner after your camping trip."

Emma — half way through snagging her Mother to usher her out again — stopped, too interested in how Regina would phrase her refusal this time.

"I'd be delighted." Regina said, never looking up from her file.

"Really?" Emma and Snow said in unison.

Regina's head tilted back just enough for her to lock eyes on the other two. "Yes."

"Oh..." Snow said. "Well... good. We'll see you then."

"I look forward to it." Regina dropped her eyes back to her desk "I'm sure after a weekend of Emma's attempts to cook over an open flame, even your cooking will be almost palatable."

It took a beat but Snow's mouth dropped open. Emma quickly grabbed her mother's hand and pushed her towards the exit. Just before she crossed the threshold between Regina's office and the waiting room in front of it she tossed a frown over her shoulder. "Seriously?"

"What? You didn't think I'd be the one cooking on this little expedition, did you." Regina called after Emma's retreating back. Her smile grew several sizes when she heard a frustrated huff from the Sheriff.

Regina smiled. This weekend was looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 20 05 2015 (20th, May)
> 
> For the record, I'm note sure what Ruby's real name was back in her Enchanted Forest days is and the OUAT wiki only lists her as "Red Riding Hood" which is more a title than a name in my opinion so I'm head cannoning Ruby as Ruby's real name for the purposes of Gold's comment about pre/post curse names. And if that seems like a cop-out, Ruby is listed as "Red" in her phone so either way, she calls Ruby by her/a pre-curse name and Gold's point sticks.
> 
> ... I think. 
> 
> Anyway, got a little Snow up in this story now (yay) for those of you wanting some Charming family moments (outside of Emma and Henry -- which there will be more of soon). Not sure If David will make a cameo before the big camping trip (which should also be showing up soon) but if he doesn't rest assured that he will likely show up after, if not during, said trip. 
> 
> I think that cover's everything... oh, wait. No, I tell a lie. The bit where Snow mentions Kathryn while explaining about David's camping gear being in storage might just be one of my favourite back-story tid-bits that I've ever written. I don't know why, it just is. The story behind 'former step-mother' might be a little higher up the list but as I didn't include it in the story, I can't count it.
> 
> Revised: 10 06 2016 (10th, June) - Minor editorial changes


	7. The Whole Damn World Is Taking Crazy Pills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Emma and Snow gather supplies for the upcoming camping trip (and for any future zombie invasion that might happen), Ruby has a chat with an unexpected customer at the Diner.

At first Emma had been more than a little irked with Regina's last second backhanded duel non-compliment. Truth be told she'd been pissed off about it. But by the time she and Snow had reached the storage depot, she was almost certain Regina had done it for Emma's benefit; not once on the drive over had Snow pried into their 'inside joke' or her evening with Regina — something she'd managed to avoid by heading out to Granny's extra early.

At the very least she was willing, if begrudgingly so, to give Regina the benefit of the doubt until she had solid proof either way.

"Careful with that, Emma. Those hooks are sharp."

Emma nodded to acknowledge Snow's warning — she'd been doing a lot of that since they'd started sorting through her dad's stuff — and made a show of being extra cautious with the fishing poles in her hand.

"Why did a guy in a coma for thirty years need so much stuff." She wondered as she picked her way towards the front of the storage unit to place the rods with the rest of the gear they'd collected so far."

"Emma!"

Snow's disapproving frown told her she'd done more than just think the question.

"Sorry... But really?" Emma paused in her journey back long enough to hold up a plastic bag full of cardboard tubes that earlier inspection had shown to be full of B movie posters from the Eighties. "What's the point of all this?"

"Maybe you should ask Regina while you're sitting around the campfire since it was her curse that put your father into a coma and gave him all this- stuff."

The slight pause at the end was all Emma needed to know that it wasn't just limited space at the loft that had managed to get so much of cursed David's belonging banished to storage and she didn't need the rest of Snow's comment to know that she was still bitter over Regina's not so veiled insult to her cooking. So she did what any good daughter would do, she changed the subject.

"Is there anything we're missing?" She asked, Regina's list for Henry in one hand while she twisted at the waist in search of anything not already marked off amongst the various piles of her father's belongings.

Snow did likewise. "No, I think that's everything here." She took a half step to her right then bent over to pick something off the floor. "Unless you think you'll have a use for ... whatever this is."

Emma only just managed to turn her laugh into a cough as she looked over at her mother's find. It wasn't that the colourful bit of plastic and metal in the smaller woman's hands was particularly funny in and of itself so much as the image of Snow White staring at a Snoopy snow-cone maker in confusion.

"I think we'll survive without it." Emma said as she quickly turned back towards the front of the shed and grabbed the borrowed box currently containing the items they'd managed to check off the list — its original contents making up one of the smaller piles that Emma picked her way past on her way back to the car.

* * *

“Shouldn't you be in school?”

“Lunch period?” The expression of innocence on Henry's face as he climbed onto the stool opposite Ruby didn't quite cover up the fact that his answer was more question than comment.

“Uh-huh. You just better hope neither of your Moms comes in here before you get your princely backside back to class.”

“They won't.” Henry said, this time with complete confidence as his eyes raked over the menu hanging on the wall behind the counter. A menu he'd long since memorized down to the 'S' that always tilted to the left a little. “Mom's off picking up Grandpa's camping stuff with Grandma and Mum's at work.”

If she wasn't used to Henry's near identical names for his co-parents, Ruby might have been confused. As it was, his answer wasn't enough to knock her off the scent.

“I see.” She said as she went about prepping a cup of cocoa for the juvenile delinquent. “So you decided what you want yet?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, how about why you're here?”

Normally Ruby would be content to let Henry get around to why he'd skipped out of school in his own time but she knew all too well how easily Emma could get sidetracked and the diner was second only to the Sheriff station and Snow's place as a gathering spot when something big was going down so she wasn't as confident as he was that Emma wasn't about to walk through the door. Plus Granny wouldn't be too happy to see him skipping class either. Not without a damn good reason like the town being about to implode. As hard as the old lady tried to make herself appear, there was a great big old softy underneath all her sweaters and shawls.

A softy who wouldn't have any problem informing on Henry if he was caught. Luckily for both of them, Granny was currently waist deep in inventory.

“What makes you think I'm here for anything other than lunch.”

“Kid, please.” Ruby pointed to her face. “The nose doesn't lie.” It didn't do much of anything in this case. The kid always smelled like a combination of Regina and Emma so unless he was feeling something really strongly, Ruby always had trouble separating his scent from his moms. Not that he had to know that.

His shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh. “Fine.” Henry mumbled as he placed his elbows on the edge of the counter and rested his chin in his hands. “Do you know what's going on with my moms?”

Ruby took a half step back. That she was not expecting.

“What do you mean?”

“They had dinner last night... without me?”

Oh. “I'm sure it was nothing, kid. They probably just didn't want to bore you with mom stuff.”

“What, no.” Henry straightened up, his hands resting palm down on the counter. “I'm not mad that I wasn't there. I want to know what they were talking about?”

“Why?” Ruby asked, resting her own arms on the counter as she leaned across the counter to keep their voices low. “You do something you're worried they found out about?”

“I'm worried about them.”

Ruby pulled her head back “Huh?”

Henry gave her a look that could best be described as 'are you kidding me?'. “They never spend time together without me being there. Not unless they're trying to protect me,” Henry's inflection on the last few words spoke volumes on how he felt about that tactic and none of them good, “So what's the big bad this week?”

Ruby sucked on the inside of her cheek for several seconds as she studied Henry's face.

“Maybe... they just wanted to spend some time together. Would that be so bad?”

“What, like as friends?”

“...Yeah”

Henry hunched over the counter again, his face scrunched up in thought.

“... No?”

“You asking, or telling?”

Henry leaned back. “Telling.”

“So you're okay with your moms being friends?”

“Well, yeah. It's better than them fighting, right... but, wait, they had that big fight the other day so-”

“Friends can fight, Kid. Heck you mom and I had a bit of a fight this morning, you think me and her aren't friends?”

“No. I mean yes. I mean you're friends.”

“Exactly. And I'm sure you've fought with your friends, right?”

“I, uh...” Henry looked towards the front of the diner. “I don't really have many friends.”

Ruby winced around the taste of foot in her mouth but rallied quickly “Yeah, well. Neither do your moms so that kinda makes them perfect for each other, don't you think?”

“I guess.”

“So you got your answer now? Everything's all good?”

Henry turned back to Ruby. “You sure there isn't some kind of dragon or monster or evil wizard running around.”

“Positive.” Ruby replied as she flashed Henry a wide smile. “Remember-” she pointed to her face again.

“-the nose never lies.” Henry finished her sentence.

“Exactly. Now drink up your cocoa and get back to school.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Henry said as he pulled the cup Ruby pushed towards him closer then dipped his finger into the thick pile of whip-cream sprinkled with cinnamon that threatened to float right over the edge and into the saucer below.

“And Henry?”

“Yeah?”

“Don't worry about your Moms too much; they really are perfect for each other.”

Ruby missed the look that Henry gave her — equal parts Regina's infamous raised eyebrow and Emma's 'what the hell are you talking about' furrowed forehead — as she turned to deal with a customer at the far end of the counter.

That didn't stop Henry's eyes from following her as he shrugged.

“O-kay?”

* * *

“We don't need a disaster preparedness kit.” Emma told her mother.”

“Are you sure?” Snow asked as she turned the cumbersome but manageable — if only just — waterproof plasticized canvas tote bag around to show Emma the list of everything that was included inside.

Again.

“Look at everything it comes with.”

“I have, mom, and half of that stuff we already have and the rest of it-” Emma jabbed a finger about half way down the cardboard list stuck to the front, “-water purification tablets? We're going to be 10 minutes from town and Regina can literally snap her fingers and we'll be back home. We won't need to purify our own water.”

“But still-”

Emma was about to cut Snow off when her phone beat her to it. “ 'Scuze me she muttered as she turned and took a few steps away — as much for privacy as for a chance to get even some small distance between them. She loved her mother though it had taken her a long time to accept that to the point where she could act on it without it feeling like the rug would be pulled out from under her for daring to think she could but gods could that woman be overprotective sometimes.

Behind her, Snow slipped the kit into their shopping cart and set about concealing it behind the other items they'd already agreed on.

“Sheriff Swan.”

“I believe a 'hello' is still traditional, Miss Swan, even for official calls.”

“Regina?”

“That could get confusing, don't you think?”

“What?”

A sigh filled the other end of the line. “Nothing, Dear. I'll just press on, shall I?”

Emma shrugged, wondering if there was anyone in her life over the age of 12 who didn't delight in trying to break her brain. “Shoot.”

“I'll take that to mean 'yes'.” Regina said.

Emma rolled her eyes before repeating “Yes.”

“Good. In that case I'll make this brief as I'm sure you have more than enough on your hands.”

Emma bit her lip to keep the thought of 'too late' from slipping into the conversation as she glanced back over her shoulder at her mother who'd moved further down the aisle and was currently inspecting what looked like something out of a sci-fi movie but which the the bright red lettering on the box identified as a portable camp potty.

_Shi-_

“Emma, are you still there?”

“Huh? Yeah, I'm here.”

“So you disagree then?”

Emma turned away from the sight of her mother trying to figure out how to fit her latest find into a cart that looked far more full than she'd remembered it being just a few minutes ago.

“Run it past me again.”

“You weren't listening, were you?”

“Regina, you're the one who wanted to make this short so can you just run it by me again instead of accusing me of not listening.”

“You weren't listening.” Emma heard, but judging by the volume Regina hadn't meant it to be heard. Or at least she was going to play it that way and Emma wasn't in the mood to press the issue.

“I said, instead of camping in a tent, I could reserve one of the cabins outside of town and we could stay there instead.”

“That's not really camping?”

“No Dear, It's better than camping. It's camping in comfort. Well, relative comfort. certainly more comfortable than sleeping on the ground.”

Emma was about to give in just to end the conversation and get back to Snow before the woman bought out the store but a spark of rebellion changed the words by the time they reached her tongue; serve her right for mocking her cooking. “Next time, Regina. This time we rough it the way nature intended.

“Oh Emma, look. Electric socks.”

The blonde dropped her head forward. “Mostly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 21 05 2015 (21st, May)
> 
> The snow cone maker was a last minute substitute for a shake-weight. I changed it both because I enjoy the (very bad) pun of Snow white/Snow Cone (is that even a pun?) and because the punch line for the shake-weight was, shall we say, a little risque. 
> 
> Also, Snow is becoming one of my favourite characters to write for with this chapter. I can only hope you all liked her appearance here as I'm sorely tempted to slip her in again as often as the plot will allow. At the very least there has to be a Ruby/Snow conversation at some point so both of them will be making at least one more appearance either way.
> 
> Revised: 10 06 2016 (10th, June)   
> — Minor editorial changes
> 
> Revised: 26 08 2016 (26th, August)   
> — Typos


	8. Parentals Just Don't Understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Heart to Heart... to Heart to Heart... to Heart to Heart. And not a one pulled out of anyone's chest. I'd say that's progress, wouldn't you?
> 
> Now, if only anyone actually listened to what was being said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: The angst ferries sprinkled their drama dust all over this chapter. I managed to scrap off some of it and slip in a few jokes but you'll need to wait for the next chapter if you're looking for more Swan Queen and co shenanigans.
> 
> Sorry.

"Hey."

"Da- Dad."

David dropped his eyes to his hands as he pushed himself away from the edge of Emma's desk "I see you survived shopping with your mother." He looked back up at her, a half smile on his lips.

Emma returned the half smile with one of her own. As hard as it could be to deal with Snow for extended periods, it was infinitely more awkward to spend time with her father. Neal was partly to blame for it, as cheap a cop-out as that sounded it was true. Neal's betrayal — however noble the reason behind it — had done nothing to help cure Emma of her trust issues. Issues born out of a lifetime of bouncing around the system so he wasn't solely to blame — the family which had given her her last name before giving her away had their fair share of that — but Neal's role in Henry's existence had an extra resonance when it came to David that the almost family she'd had as a toddler didn't.

"Yeah. Was she always like that? I don't remember Mary Margaret being that bad."

"I wouldn't know, malls weren't that common back in the Enchanted Forest and I spent most of Mary Margaret's existence in a coma."

A laugh huffed it's way through Emma's nose, earning her a quizzical look from David."

"Nothing. We just- I just said something about you being in a coma while we were out at the storage place."

"Ahh." David gave a slow, exaggerated nod. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not." Emma said. "I mean there's not much to know. I was curious why you had so much stuff what with you being in a coma the whole time."

"Maybe you can ask Regina-"

"That's what Snow said." Emma ducked her head, her hands shoved into her coat pockets.

David gave another slow nod. "Anyway, I just came by to drop off some fresh filters." He pointed towards the station's coffee maker. "Figured I'd stay around till you got back in case anyone called.

"I forwarded to my cell."

"Right. Of course you did."

Emma scuffed her right foot against the floor before heading over to the coffeemaker to get a cup. "You want one?"

"No, I'm good. Ruby still on for tonight's shift?"

"Yeah, you still okay with tomorrow night?"

"Yeah. I'll save the coffee for then."

"Right." This time it was Emma's turn to nod.

"The weekend-"

"Shit." Emma half turned towards her father "Can you pick up the Saturday shift? Rubes said she'd do Sunday and you two can just swap the evenings?"

"Should be fine."

"Thanks." Emma took a sip from her paper cup then dropped a handful of sugar cubes into her coffee and gave it a quick stir with her finger.

"Don't let your mother catch you doing that?"

"Which?" Emma sucked her finger clean then took another sip as she turned back to face David "The sugar or scalding myself?"

"Both."

The two shared another small grin.

"I should get going. Knowing your mother she's half way through making a list of things she wants to pick up for the loft and I don't think the storage shed can fit much more."

"Probably not."

David took a few steps towards her, stopped, then re angled himself towards the exit only to stop again before stepping out of the office proper. "You need anything, you call, alright?"

Emma stared at her reflection in the dark liquid that filled her cup before she tilted her head back to meet David's eyes. "Always."

* * *

"How was school?"

"Good."

Regina looked up from the proposal for increased funding for road repairs that she had been correcting; the secrets of good grammar apparently not one of the memories granted by her curse.

" 'Good'?" Before the curse broke, every day had been much like the last and after Emma had broken it, it had taken a while for life in Storybrooke to settle back into a routine — and for her to earn back Henry's trust when her past as the Evil Queen had been confirmed beyond the pages of his story book — but since then Henry had rarely come home without some detailed recitation of some new tale from his day. The last several of which seemed to have centred around one of the girls in his grade.

"Yeah. Oh, they had fish-sticks in the cafeteria today."

"Wasn't today pizza day?"

"Uh-huh. Weird, right."

"Indeed." Regina pulled her day planner closer and made a note to speak to the schools kitchen staff about what she would assume for the time being was nothing more than an honest mix-up. It hadn't affected Henry either way since Regina insisted on packing a much more well balanced meal than the cafeteria tended to offer but as a concerned mother, she felt it important enough to look into if only for the nutrition of those students who's parents weren't quite so conscientious.

"Anything else?"

She looked up to see Henry watching her pen still poised over the page.

Regina quickly closed her planner, the pen left inside to mark her place, and folded her hands together over her stomach.

"No, nothing else. Just fish-sticks."

Regina swallowed a sigh. "Any homework?"

"Some math," Henry admitted, "and I have to write a poem for English class."

"On anything in particular, Regina asked as she leaned forward and placed her still folded hands on her desk.

"Something that rhymes."

Regina sucked in a breath then shook her head. "Nothing more specific?"

"No. It just has to be a poem."

"I see. And when do you have to have this poem-that-rhymes completed by."

"Next Monday."

A smile flickered across Regina's mouth. "Perhaps you and Emma can work on it during our camping trip."

* * *

Ruby wrapped her scarf around her throat with one hand while the other checked her cell phone for any missed messages. "Okay, I'm off to play cop."

"Not so fast, girly. We need to talk."

Her head dropped forward but she obediently stop her head long rush for the door and turned around to face the speaker. "Granny, can this wait? I really need to get going."

"We can talk about it now or we can talk about it in front of Emma, your choice. But I'd bet good money that you'd rather not have to explain your little conversation with Henry to the both of us."

Ruby sighed. "You heard that?"

"Enough to wonder what the hell is going through that fool head of yours. What are you thinking meddling with those three."

"It's not meddling."

Granny grunted in disbelief. "Really? You think Snow would think so if she found out what you were up to."

"All I did was tell the kid not to worry about his parents getting along."

Another grunt. "I raised you, child. Don't think I don't know exactly how you think."

"Whatever." Ruby turned to leave.

"Don't you turn your back to me."

Ruby spun back around. "What did I do that was wrong?"

"You know damn well what you did, Ruby Lucas. You of all people know how dangerous it is to muck about with true love."

Ruby's mouth dropped open. "You, you think they're true love?"

Granny froze, then half turned away as she gave a shrug, the motion setting off a ripple amongst the layers of shawls covering her shoulders. "I didn't say that."

"Oh you so did."

"No I didn't," the older woman snapped. "And even if I did, it doesn't change the fact that you think it is and that you should know better than to interfere with it."

"Pointing out the obvious isn't interfering."

"It is when your pointing it out to two of the most stubborn headed people in two realms. You can't force people to fall in love. Even Snow and Charming took time to figure out what they meant to each other and they didn't have a son in the mix."

"But shouldn't that make it easier? Especially if Henry's on board?"

Granny shook her head as a short bark of laughter erupted from her throat. "You clearly have never had to raise a child. I'm sure Emma and Regina both love that boy more than even they know but that only makes everything more complicated, not less. A parent will do anything if they think it's the best thing for their child. Snow sent her daughter to another world to protect her. You think Regina or Emma wouldn't sacrifice as much for Henry if they thought they had to? Up to and including their own happiness. You think everyone else in town would be rooting for the Saviour and the Evil Queen to play house? Because this isn't just about the three of them, Ruby. They're two of the most powerful women, most powerful people in Storybrooke. What they do or don't do affects everyone and no one needs you trying to rush them along because you think they're perfect together. If it's meant to be, it'll be, so let it be."

Ruby's shoulders slumped in defeat.

Granny sighed. "Look... I know you meant well, dear, but trust your old Granny on this, alright?"

A nod.

The elder Lucas held back another sigh.

"Go on then, I'm sure Emma's waiting for you."

A still silent Ruby nodded again, then turned and shuffled towards the door.

"I'll bring you something hot to eat in a few hours."

The door clicked shut behind Ruby.

The sigh Granny had been holding back escaped. "Oh you sweet, foolish child."

Ruby reached the end of the walk, turned onto the sidewalk, and made her way to the end of the block without once looking up from her feet. Once she was around the corner however, her head came up to reveal a giddy grin.

Regina and Emma were so on. They just didn't know it yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 22 05 2015 (22nd, May)
> 
> The scene in Regina's office was originally supposed to have Gold in Henry's spot (as Gold, not Regina's adopted son... just to be clear). I'm still not entirely sure what happened to change it but whatever it was did help me decide on the title for this Chapter so it's all good (just not Gold. Again, just to be clear).
> 
> Anyway, next up is the start of the Camping trip (we'll be skipping ahead a day or so; don't worry, anything important that happened in those missing hours will pop up when it needs to if not a little before) so the Battle for which of Henry's mom's is most out of place in the woods starts soon.
> 
> Place your bets folks.
> 
> Revised: 10 06 2016 (10th, June)
> 
> The number of typos I find while doing this is, quite honestly, shameful and I don't understand how y'all managed to make it through this story the first time and makes all the kudos and comments you've left even more meaningful. Thank yo. (yes, that one is intentional. But really; thank you.)
> 
> Also added chapter summary (not sure why there wasn't one to begin with)


	9. Can't See The Forest For The Trees.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Mom, camping is not a date; it's an endurance test. If you can survive camping with someone, you should marry them on the way home.”  
> ― Yvonne Prinz, The Vinyl Princess
> 
> Into the woods, it's time to go. Into the woods, it's time and so they must begin their journey.  
> And begin it they do as Emma, Henry, and Regina head out for a weekend of tromping through the woods outside Storybrooke. Now all they need to do is survive for the next 48 hours without getting injured, poisoned, or killed... either by the elements or each other.  
> Hey, at least they've got candy-crush.  
> Well, Emma does. Now if she can just get her phone back from Henry.

Emma planned on taking the Bug on the trip but between David's gear, everything they'd picked up from Regina's list, and everything Snow had insisted Emma bring with her, there just wasn't enough room for all of that plus Regina and Henry. David's truck had been the only solution Emma could think of — even if asking her dad for keys to the family car had been too weird to deal with — and judging by the expression on Regina's face as Emma pulled up to curb out front of the Mayor's mansion, she'd had similar expectations.

"Miss Swan?"

"Can it with the 'Miss Swan' stuff, Regina. For the next two days it's 'Emma' or nothing."

Regina eyed the tarpaulin stretched across the otherwise open bed of the truck and quickly put together the reason for Emma's favoured death trap not being included on their plans for the weekend.

"Will 'Dear' do."

"I was thinking more hotdogs and S'mores but if you think Henry's old enough to go hunting..."

Dark brown eyes turned back to Emma. "Aren't we the comedian."

"Yeah, you and me will have the rabbits rolling in the aisles." Emma leaned over the bench seat of the old pickup to get a better view of the sidewalk. "Speaking of our audience, where's Henry?"

"Inside. Regina turned at the waist to point to the house without uncrossing her arms or looking away from Emma. "Apparently he has some sort of surprise for us that he's finishing up."

"What is it?"

Regina's eyebrow rose. "Should I pick you up a dictionary, Dear."

"Now who's the comedian." Emma shifted back to her seat as she undid her belt, then climbed out of the truck. "You didn't peek?"

"I've tried to make an effort not to needlessly invade our son's privacy since... the curse broke."

Emma dipped her head. "Good plan."

"Quite."

"Mom!"

The excited cry pulled both women out of the growing silence that surrounded them and around to see Henry race towards them with a back pack hanging off one shoulder.

"Kid." Emma smiled, quickly moved to intercept their son before he could run out into the road to greet her. "You ready to see you mum trying to rough it in her high heels?"

Regina's scoff widened the grins already on the faces of the other two as they exchanged hugs."

"Please, I've spent more time in the wilderness — the real wilderness — than you've had hot meals."

Emma's arms tensed for a heartbeat. She pretended not to notice the look of curiosity Henry shot her when she let him go. With her smile still fixed on her face, she turned towards Regina.

"Is that so?"

"In leather, Miss Swan. And there were worse things than rabbits to contend with. Ogres didn't even make it into the top ten."

"I told you it's 'Emma'. And I wasn't the one that wanted to rent a cabin."

"I was only thinking of you, _Emma_."

"I bet you were. And speaking of bets, what say we make this interesting?"

"I should think watching you stumbled around in what passes for a forest here would be interesting enough."

"Afraid you'll loose?"

Henry glanced back and forth between the two women as they bantered, each closing the distance between them with every exchange of words. It wasn't fighting... but there was definitely more to whatever was happening than met the eye. He'd have to ask Ruby about it later.

"Name your terms."

"I win and you have to cook me dinner for a month."

"I may do that anyway if only to give you an idea of what a proper diet looks like."

"So you agree?"

"Not yet. What do I get when you lose?"

Now standing less than a foot from Regina, Emma rolled her eyes at Regina's choice of words. "Name your prize." Knowing Regina it would be something equally mundane, like having her paperwork done on time for a month. Nothing Emma couldn't handle if she lost. Not that she was going to loose.

"Cooking lessons."

"Huh?" Emma wasn't the only one to make that noise, Henry was every bit as caught off guard but neither woman acknowledged him joining the conversation.

"When I win, you will take cooking lessons from me for at least one month. This way I can ensure that both of you have at least one healthy meal a day."

"That's what you want? Seriously?"

"Afraid you'll loose, Dear?"

"Not on your life. I just want to make sure you know what you're giving up."

"Several hours of my life and possibly an insurance claim when you inevitably set fire to my kitchen... On second thought, perhaps we should hold your lessons at your parent's apartment."

Emma scowled. "The only lessons going on here is the one I'm gonna give you when I school your-" the blonde half turned her head towards Henry as she caught herself and quickly amended her choice of words. "-self and win this bet. You're on."

Regina looked down at the hand Emma had shoved out for her to shake then back up at the saviour. "Not quite yet. We haven't defined the conditions of the bet."

"Oh, right... What were you thinking."

"Henry decides which of us makes the better woodswoman."

"Isn't he a little biased?"

"Hey!"

"I didn't say for who." Emma turned to face Henry.

"It still counts. And either way I get to spend more time with the both of you so it's perfectly even, so there."

"Agreed. So, Emma, do we have an accord?"

Emma turned back to Regina. A smiling Regina.

_Oh she was so going down._

"Deal."

* * *

"We're here."

Henry looked up from Emma's phone. The drive from Regina's had barely taken the better part of a quarter of an hour but apparently the kid wanted to pack in every last second he could playing candy-crush before the electronic moratorium Regina insisted on (“You were the one that wanted to rough it, Dear.”) came into effect.

“This is it?” He asked, his voice clearly showing how unimpressed he was with the view out the windshield.

“No.” Emma pulled the keys from the ignition and slipped them into her coat pocket before snagging her phone out of Henry's hand to shut it off. “This is as far as the truck goes, from here on out we walk.”

“How far.”

Emma looked at Regina over Henry's head, her expression almost triumphant. For the kid of someone who claimed to be such a bad-ass when it came to surviving in the wilderness, Henry's reaction wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of Regina's woodcraft.

She had this bet in the bag.

“Until we find a place to set up camp.” Emma turned back to her son as she shoved her phone into her other pocket. “C'mon, last one out of the truck has to carry the heavy stuff.”

Henry scrambled to undo his belt, a quick glance at the steering wheel sticking out over Emma's lap all he need to see to know his best escape route lay in the other direction.

“Henry!” Regina cried out as her son climbed over her to get out of the truck, his arms thrown up in triumph at being the first out before he turned a guilty if still proud grin towards his less than impressed mother.

“Sorry Mum.”

“Honestly.” Regina scolded under her breath. “If this is what the two of you are going to be like all weekend, I can't wait for Monday.”

“Regina?”

She turned her attention back to Emma.

A grinning Emma.

“You're last.” The blonde gloated before sliding out of her open door, her arms thrown up in a victory dance too similar to Henry's for Regina to not find amusing.

“Idiots.”

She shook her head as she climbed out of the car, taking a moment to smooth down the fabric of her coat before she walked around to the back of the truck where an Emma still smiling from the first of many victories she planned to have over Regina, had already lowered the tail-gate and was pulling their supplies out for transport.

“Whoa.”

The sleeping bag dropped from Emma's hands as she made a mad grab to stop Regina from tumbling backwards when the stiletto heel of the other woman's patent leather calf high boot sunk into the soft ground.

“Still think you'll beat me?” Emma teased as Regina used her own grip on Emma's arm to pull herself straight before moving her hands away.

“Easily.” Regina replied as she gave a wave of her hand and, much to Emma's surprise, dropped three inches before the blonde's eyes.

Emma looked down to find the Mayor's feet in a sensible pair of hiking boots. “Cheater.”

“We never said we couldn't use magic, Dear.”

Emma looked up. “Cheater.”

Regina had to bite back a laugh at the look on Emma's face. “You had ample time to add 'no magic' to our bet. It's not my fault you didn't.”

“Yeah, but... cheating.” Emma turned to Henry. “I want an official ruling here.”

Henry, who's wandered a half dozen feet from the truck while his mother's went about unloading it, looked from Emma's earnestly affronted expression to Regina's equally amused one then back at Emma. “Sorry... But she's right. You never said no magic.”

“Traitor.” Emma cried, her exaggerated stomps back to the rear of the truck all Henry needed to know he wasn't in any real trouble.

“You do know you have magic as well?” Regina pointed out, a hand resting on Henry's shoulder as the pair rejoined Emma.

A huff of air slipped from Emma's nose with just enough attitude for the rest of their party to know it had nothing to do with the weight of the cooler she was lowering to the ground. “Lot a good that will do me when I don't know how to use it.”

“I could teach you, if you'd like.”

Emma stopped, one foot on the ground as she stretched out to grab the waterproof bag holding the family sized tent that she'd picked up while shopping with Snow after her mom pointed out that David's much smaller tent might not be big enough to fit the three of them without issue.

“Seriously?”

Regina did something Emma rarely ever got to witness. She shrugged. “I don't see why not. But if you accept my offer there will be strict rules, Emma. First among them that I am in charge.”

“During my lessons.” Emma clarified.

“When else have I ever been in control of you?”

“You are her boss.” Henry pointed out.

“Only on paper, Henry. Your mother is a force onto herself.” Regina turned back to Emma “Which is one more reason why learning to control her magic would be of benefit to everyone.”

Emma held Regina's eyes for several seconds before turning to Henry. “You'd be okay with this? If we start it this weekend your mum and I won't have as much time to spend with you.”

“I can watch.”

“No, you can't.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because magic is dangerous, especially in untrained hands-”

“Hey!”

“Which Emma's most certainly are.”

“Again, Hey!”

Regina looked back at Emma. “You were the one who said she couldn't control her powers.”

“No, I said I didn't know how to use them. That's not the same thing.”

“As the resident magic expert, I strongly disagree.”

“Guys!” Both women turned back to Henry who gave them a sheepish grin. “I mean moms... How a bout this, when you're,” He turned to Regina, “teaching her,” he turned to Emma, “magic, I get to play on Emma's phone.”

Regina's turned her head enough to catch Emma's eye. “I think that will be a fair compromise. The point of not using our phones was so that we wouldn't be distracted from spending time together but if Emma and I are busy I see no harm in temporarily lifting the ban.” She turned back to Henry. “So long as you stay near the camp and don't come spying on us.”

Emma simply nodded. As much as her magic scared her at times, Regina was right; she needed to learn how to control it eventually and the middle of the woods with no one around and nothing to break was as good — and safe — a spot as any to start.

With both of his mothers in apparent agreement, Henry nodded as well. “So it's settled. You two can have your magic time and I get to play some games. That is, when we aren't camping.”

“Sound about right.” Emma said.

“Agreed.”

“Cool.”

“Now, if that's settled, shall we get moving. I'd rather not have to watch Emma stumbled around in the dark trying to set up the tent by starlight.”

“Hey, why am I the one setting up the tent?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 23 05 2015 (23rd, May)
> 
> How about that quote, folks? Great quote or greatest quote ever. (and used completely without permission, mind you so fingers crossed I won't get sued into oblivion before I finish this story).
> 
> Anyway, the next few chapters will be (almost) entirely our happy little family and I'm hoping to keep the angst to a minimum (but with these two, it's bound to come up once or twice) so it should be relatively smooth sailing with the odd visit to fluff island.
> 
> As always, enjoy ;D
> 
> Revised: 10 06 2016 (10th, June) - Minor editorial changes


	10. The Woods Are Lovely, Dark, And Deep...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the campsite finally up and running, a very hungry Emma (when isn't she –Regina [no commenting from the characters please –author]) will have to wait a little longer before she can stuff herself full of slightly charred marshmallows when Regina decides there's no time like the present to start Emma's magic lessons. Will she learn anything before her growling stomach drives Regina to rethink her choice?
> 
> Meanwhile, Henry's back at camp but is he truly alone? And what about this special 'surprise' he has for his moms? What's that all about?
> 
> And how's the rest of Storybrooke fairing with their beloved Saviour and not so beloved former Queen off making magic in the woods?
> 
> Don't ask me, I'm just the summary. Read the chapter and find out for yourself.

It was only a ten minute hike into the woods before they found a spot they all agreed would make for a good camp site, but it took several trips to carry all their gear from the truck — something Emma insisted on over just poofing (Emma’s words, Regina's eye-roll) everything into place with the argument that Henry couldn't use magic even with training and what was the point of taking the kid out into the woods if not to get a little exercise along with all the fresh air. A point Henry tried to overrule since he'd already cleared magic as okay but on which he was overruled when Regina sided with Emma.

Not that it mattered. In the end it was decided that Henry wasn't strong enough to carry much gear anyway — a decision he only mildly objected to as he played with Emma's phone — and since neither mother wanted to leave him alone until their campsite was up and running and Regina insisted on staying with him until it was, it was Emma, not Henry, who wound up getting all the exercise that had been one of the cornerstones of her argument in the first place. Between that, and the fact the Regina also refused to set up the tent with the excuse that she was giving Emma a head start to prove herself the better camper — an argument Emma called out as bullshit, at least in her head. With Henry near by she'd just rolled her eyes and headed back to the truck to get the next load of supplies — it was over an hour after they'd first left the truck before the tent was up. 

"You know, you can start proving you're as good at this as you say you are anytime now." Emma said a little too pointedly as she stretched her back to work out the various kinks that had worked their way into her spine over the last sixty plus minutes before she gave the tent a satisfied once over.

"Or we could begin your lessons."

"What?" Emma gave the campfire a longing glance. The sun was already starting to set and a chill was working its way into the air even this close to the forest's edge. Plus she hadn't had anything to eat in almost two hours and unlike the other two with her, she'd actually been burning calories. "But-"

"What's rule one?"

Emma held Regina's unblinking gaze for several long moments before letting out a heavy sigh as she started to walk away from their campsite in search of somewhere secluded to start her training.

"I'm waiting."

Emma stopped, bewilderment on her face as she turned back to face Regina to find the older woman watching her with smug expectation painted across her features.

Understanding dawned on Emma. "Seriously?"

An arched eyebrow was her only answer.

"You have got to be kidding me." Emma grumbled under her breath as she jammed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, a heavy sigh let free before she said more clearly, "You're in charge."

Regina's smirk grew. "Now we can go."

"What have I gotten myself into." Emma muttered as she turned around and set off into the woods again, this time with Regina trailing along behind her.

"Stay here, Henry. If you get hungry there are some granola bars in my purse. You may have one."

"Yes Mum." Henry's eyes never lifted from the screen of Emma's phone until the sound of his mothers footsteps faded into the woods. Only then did he raise his head to a quick look around to make sure he was alone.

* * *

A heavy sigh slipped past her scarlet lips as Ruby tilted her chair back, the decades old seat creaking under her as she did.

She was soooo bored. That was the worst part about this deputy gig; when there was some big bad to fight it wasn't so bad, but when Storybrooke was just another sleepy little coastal town it was so fu-cking dull sitting around the station with nothing to do but count the ceiling tiles — sixty-seven. Eighty-eight and a half if you counted the hallway — and wait for the phone to ring. At least this time being bored out of her skull came with the consolation prize of Emma and Regina getting some time to get their shit together.

And if they didn't, there was always plan B.

The phone rang.

The chair creaked again as Ruby's feet hit floor. "Finally." Her hand snaked out; not for the station's phone but her cell sitting next to it.

_SNOW JR: You there?_

_: yup. what's the sitch?_

_SNOW JR: Mum's giving Mom magic lessons._

Ruby's eyebrows rose. That was unexpected. Had some potential too. The question was potential for what?

_: like right now?_

_SNOW JR: Yup._

_: how's it going?_

_SNOW JR: Don't know. I'm not allowed to watch. Mum says it's too dangerous._

Figures. On the upside that meant Regina and Emma were alone which had to help things along. Those two generated enough sparks without adding magic into the mix and magic was practically Regina's number one turn on. Or it had been back in the Enchanted Forest and as far as Regina had come from her Evil Queen days, Ruby doubted that much had changed.

Yeah, they could work with this.

_: anything else?_

_SNOW JR: They made a bet._

Ruby smiled. Oh did they now?

_: over what?_

_SNOW JR: Who sucks less at camping._

Ruby laughed. She doubted Regina had phrased it like that, Emma maybe, but not the Mayor. Not without some serious levels of drinking going on... Plan C maybe? Either way, Ruby liked Henry's version better and even if it wasn't as juicy as she was hoping, it still had promise. If magic was Regina's biggest turn on, competition was her second.

_: what does the winner get?_

_SNOW JR: Mom gets cooking lessons if Mum wins and Mum has to make Mom meals for a month if Mom wins._

Typical Emma, thinking with her stomach. Not so typical Regina though.

Very interesting.

_: let me know what happens_

_SNOW JR: Ok_

_: And remember to delete these texts_

_SNOW JR: I know._

_: that everything?_

_SNOW JR: The tent's kinda lopsided._

Ruby snorted.

_SNOW JR: But other than that, nope._

_: ok. good luck._

_SNOW JR: You too._

Ruby leaned back in her seat, the chair protesting once more as she returned her feet to the top of Emma's desk. Magic lessons and bets. And all on their own. Maybe Granny was right and she didn't need to push things along.

But just in case, there was still plan B. And maybe a C. Operation Cider? She'd have to see what Henry thought of the name next time he texted.

* * *

"Are you even trying?"

"Are you?" Emma fired back. They'd been working on her first lesson for barely ten minutes and already her forehead was dotted with sweat.

And her patience was rapidly dwindling, especially with rule one.

"More than you it would appear."

"Alright, that's it."

"Emma-"

"Don't even with rule one. I've had it up to here with rule one."

"Emma, shut up and listen. Do you smell something?"

"Wha-" Emma instinctively took a sniff. Her eyes opened a little wider.

"Smoke, dear. Congratulations. You've just performed magic."

"How?" Emma turned back to the small pile of kindling that had resist her every effort to ignite to see a thin curl of grey smoke slowly drifting from it.

"Anger, sadly." Regina explained. "Magic, all magic, has an emotional component — that's part of what makes true love so powerful — but your magic especially."

"Why mine especially?"

"Because you're a product of true love."

Emma watched as the smoke faded away. Her first successful spell apparently still a work in progress. "So why anger?"

"It's the easiest emotion to access. Another reason why true love is so powerful is because it's so rare."

"So you were trying to piss me off."

"It was that or get you to fall in love and I thought this would be easier giving the time constraints." Regina motioned towards the pile of twigs. "Seems I made the right choice.

Emma let out a short huff, part agreement, part disapproval, and entirely thankful that her efforts to light the small pile of kindling had already reddened her cheeks.

"Cheater."

"Baby."

"Is that better or worse than Dear?"

Regina shook her head. "Shut up and try again."

* * *

"Penny for your thoughts."

"Hmm?" Snow turned away from the window at the far end of their loft, one arm wrapped across her chest, the other resting on it as she held her chin in thought. "Sorry. It's just..."

"Emma?"

Snow glanced back out the window then made her way over to her husband and pressed her cheek against his strong chest as she slipped her arms around his waist. "Mostly."

David pulled her close, his chin resting lightly against the top of her head. "Regina?"

"Is it wrong that I'm worried about the two of them being out there together?" Snow looked up when she felt David pull his head back and got a kiss to her forehead in reward.

"I think that depends on what you're worried about."

"It's Regina."

"I know. And we both know that she's not the same Regina we used to know. Not after Henry. Yes, she still has a lot to make up for but do you really think she'd do anything to hurt Emma? Especially with Henry around?"

Snow's face wrinkled in annoyance at her husband's logic. Why couldn't he just agree with her that she had a right to be worried over their daughter's safety. They'd lost so many years of Emma's life, why shouldn't she be worried about losing what they had left?"

Charming, with the skill of all well trained husbands, held back the laugh that wanted to slip free as he watched Snow's expression and quickly ducked in to give her a kiss before the slight upturn of his own betrayed his amusement. "I'll take that as a no."

"Sometimes I really hate you." Snow muttered as she buried her face against his chest again.

David returned his chin to the top of her head. "Liar."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 24 05 2015 (24th, May)
> 
> Anyone else curious about what Plan B is? I know I am. 
> 
> Anyway, that's the chapter, folks. I'm still not sure about the placement of the Snow/David scene. It was originally going to be used to start off the next chapter, then I was going to put it between Ruby and Henry's text session and Regina and Emma's first magic lesson (which, yes, was a nod to the similar scene from the Neverland arc) until I decided to put it at the end of this chapter but over all, I'm pretty happy with it as is. I got to slip in lots of little innuendos and double meanings which is always fun and any time you can slip in a ghost busters reference has got to count as a good day, right?
> 
> Revised: 11 06 2016 (10th, June) - Minor editorial changes
> 
> Surprisingly, aside from some typos and formatting, I'm not finding much I feel compelled to change. Now that may not seem all that surprising to you since, you know, I wrote it in the first place but I'm sure that any of my fellow authors out there can attest that no-one is as big a critic of a piece of writing as the person who wrote it. In fact that's part of the reason these updates have been delayed so long — I just couldn't work up the drive to go over these chapters because I knew (or as it seems, erroneously feared) all the changes I'd want to make and all the re-writing that would take.
> 
> Now, mind you, that's not the main reason why updates have been in short supply for the last year(ish [it's not even in the top three]) but it's one of them. Also, that's not to say this is in any way a perfect story. I've spotted at least 2 potential plot holes that I'll need to patch up at some point and I know (no erroneously about this one at all) that there are far better writers out there who could take this plot and make my attempt at it look like it was written in crayon on a hot sidewalk by a blind two year old but, for what it's worth, it's not as terrible as I thought.   
> And hopefully, for those of you reading this for the first time, you agree. Anyone reading it for the second(+) time probably already does. In either case, thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy it.


	11. Orienteering For Beginners - Or How To Get Lost Without Really Trying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maps are pretty hand things, even handier if you know how to read one. But even the best map can't help you find a path if you don't know your destination.
> 
> And no map can help if you don't, or won't, read the signs along the way.

It was starting to get dark enough for Henry to wonder — and worry — about when his moms would get back when he caught sight of a soft orange light out of the corner of his eye. He got off the log that had been serving as his makeshift seat and cautiously approached the 'edge' of their campsite — essential the point where the campfire's glow gave way to the deepening shadows — to get a better view of the light as it flickered in and out of view through the dull grey patchwork of branches and tree trunks that broke up the primordial darkness of the woods at night.

The light was getting closer.

"Mum?"

"Relax, Kid. It's just us." Emma's voice called back before stepping into view a few seconds later. "And look what I learned." She held out her hand proudly, her fingers uncurling from their protective shell to reveal the source of the glow; a small flame hovering over her palm barely bigger than that from a candle. 

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah." Henry ran towards them, impatient enough for a closer look that he couldn't wait for them to cross the last twenty odd feet back to camp. "Let me see."

"Careful." Both parents warned — though for different reasons — as Emma lowered her palm a little more to give Henry a better vantage point. "Don't touch." She said when Henry reached out to pull her hand closer.

"Sorry. Can you make it bigger?"

"She's lucky she could keep it that big for the walk back here."

Emma looked over her shoulder at her less-then-praising teacher. "You're just jealous that he likes my fireballs more than he likes yours."

Regina, without breaking eye contact, lifted her right hand to shoulder height and a sphere of flame that easily dwarfed the flickering ember hovering over Emma's palm appeared. "This is a fireball, dear. I think at best you may have a firedot."

"Show off." Emma teased, her mouth still spread wide as she turned back to Henry.

Both mother's failed to notice the slightly raised eyebrow on their son's face as he watched their exchange.

In truth, Regina was impressed how far Emma had come in only one lesson. Not that she would ever admit that to Emma. Her own training under the Dark One had been very thin on positive reinforcement and as much as she loathed the irksome imp, she couldn't fault his results even if she would never go to quite the extremes he had. More importantly, Emma wasn't comfortable with unguarded praise. Regina had seen the blonde cringe more than once whenever Snow gave one of her inane 'you're the Saviour, you can do this' speeches and had realized what Emma's mother still hadn't: the life she'd led — the life Regina had played a part in giving her — had left Emma unable to trust, let alone accept, any praise she was given until she'd felt she'd earned it. And in that particular, Emma's standards were even higher than Regina's.

Plus, a smug Charming was an insufferable one. "Who's hungry?" She asked, her fireball snuffed out as she closed her hand.

"Me!" The chorus from the other two ended with a lone "Awww." from Emma when she realized she'd doused her own flame in her excitement for something to eat.

"Henry, fetch some extra fire wood but don't go too far. I'm going to see if Emma can fare any better in the kitchen than she can with magic." Regina said as she resumed walking toward their camp "Or what passes for a kitchen out here."

"Hold up one second. You haven't won yet so what's with the cooking lesson."

"Consider it a dry run for when I do." Regina turned, now walking backwards as she spoke so that she could look Emma in the eye. "Unless you're not up to the challenge."

"Kid, get the firewood. Someone needs to put their cooking where their mouth is."

Regina turned back around. "That's rather the point, Dear."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me t-"

"No." Emma cut Regina off, though through the grinding of her teeth as she tried to chew her way through the char and ketchup that filled her mouth it came out sounding more like "nhug."

"Suit yourself, Dear." Regina turned back to her plate. It wasn't up to her usual standards but considering the setting it could be worse. Emma's plate was proof of that.

They really had their work cut out for them.

* * *

"Ow. What the he-"

"It's too hot in the middle." Henry explained as he crawled over Emma to take over her spot near the edge of the tent. 

Emma opened her mouth to point out that if it was too hot for him, odds are it would be too hot for her and there was a lot less of him to be hot than there was of her but closed it with a sigh instead. Between work, hauling all their stuff into the woods, and her magic lesson, Emma was exhausted. And unlike the others, she hadn't had a good meal since her lunchtime cheeseburger from Granny's.

Stupid pride.

She shuffled off the edge of her — now Henry's — air mattress (Snow had been emphatic on that point. "Trust me, Emma, you do not want to deal with a Regina who's spent the night with a tree root poking her in the back.") and onto the one in the middle.

"You don't mind?" She asked softly, her head turned to look over at Regina.

"So long as you don't snore, Dear, a few extra feet either way makes no difference." Regina replied, her eyes holding onto Emma's for a few extra seconds before she rolled onto her side, her back to her campmates.

"I don't." Emma rolled onto her side, her back to Regina.

"Much." Henry added

"Shut up, Kid, and go to sleep."

* * *

"Where did you get this map?" Regina grumbled, the misfolded sheet of paper threatening to tear as she gave it a frustrated shake.

"It's the search and rescue copy from the station."

Regina's head snapped around. "And what if they need it?"

"Then we're already in the woods."

The former Queen harrumphed with an actual "Harrumph" — which almost broke Emma's attempt to contain the laughter building in her chest — and turned back to the map. "Remind me to authorized the purchase of a new one when we get back as this one is obviously defective."

"Do you want me to have a look?"

"This is why 'poofing' was invented, Miss Swan,” Regain ignored Emma's question, “so one wouldn't need to rely on faulty maps or bothersome Saviours to get around."

"Sounds like somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Henry mumbled, thought not as quietly as he thought.

Both Mothers froze before looking as far from the other as they could.

* * *

It had been a long time since Regina had had a goods night sleep. Oh, she had slept through the night often enough, and even had pleasant dreams or even no dreams at all. But to wake up truly rested; to that blissful moment of nothing but the warmth and comfort of your own bed occupying your mind instead of the needs and chores and plans and battles both small and large that would all-too-soon occupy your waking hours... Regina honestly couldn't recall the last time she'd felt that way. The closest she could come was some nebulous memory of waking up in the arms of her father.

"Papa."

"Shh, go back to sleep."

The arm around her waist pulled her closer and a soft "Mmhmm" purred in Regina's throat as she nestled closer to the warm body pressed against her back. Her lips unconsciously curled into a smile as a gently breath played against the side of her neck, then curled a little more as the thumb resting against her stomach started to lightly stroke back and forth.

She missed this. She missed it so much more than she wanted to remember. The safety of it. The warmth. The caring. The love.

Her smiled faded as lone tear slipped from her still closed eyes, the memory of her last moments with her father played in all their hated agony inside her head.

" 'M sorry. 'M so sorry, Papa."

"Shhh. Forgive you. Gobacktosleep."

The arm around her waist pulled her a little closer. The thumb now joined by the rest of the hand as it continued its soothing strokes.

"Love you Papa."

"Love you too. Sleep."

The faintest hint of a grin returned to Regina's lips, both from her father's forgiveness and the touch of his nose against her neck as he buried his face into her hair.

... Wait... Hadn't she... Wasn't he...

Regina's eyes snapped open to find a canvas wall. She wasn't in her childhood home, nor her palace bedroom. She was in a tent. In the woods. In Storybrooke.

With Emma. 

Her hand very slowly, very carefully, moved towards the arm hugging – no, not hugging, holding; the arm holding her.

The svelte yet muscular arm. The disturbingly smooth and hairless arm.

Emma's arm.

* * *

Without giving the map another glance, Regina twisted it into a tight tube with both hands then used it to point in the opposite direction of Emma. "We go that way"

* * *

Emma hadn't slept this well in, well, ever. Not since she was three, anyway. Too many bad foster homes where sleep was a luxury she couldn't afford, too many nights lying on her cot in juvie beset by the ills and fears of pregnancy and the constant second guessing and anger that Neal's betrayal had given birth to, too many nights wired on black coffee and sugar while on the job and a never ending stream of new — or at least new to her — beds to get used to that was part and parcel with her nomadic life before the night Henry had arrived at her front door and turned her disconnected little world upside down. And since that night, too many monsters and mysteries and imminent threats hanging over her head, too many people counting on her to make everything right, too much responsibility for someone who'd spent their life depending on as few people as she could get away with.

Too long since she'd had this, since she'd woken up in a perfect little cocoon of warmth and softness and soothing scents.

And she was in no rush to end it.

A voice, more felt then heard, filtered through her still slumbering senses and she mumbled something in reply before curling even closer to the source of heat and the familiar blend of lilac and vanilla that filled her lungs with each deep, slow breath.

The voice again, pulling her closer to consciousness, the one place she didn't want to be. Another mumbled reply. Her hand gently attempting to lull the speaker back down into dreamland with her.

It didn't work. The voice spoke again, pulling her even further towards the surface, the words finally registering with her sleep addled brain.

"Love you too. Sleep."

Emma buried her face into perfumed silk, inhaling deeply in the hopes that it would turn the tide and allow the sandman to carry her off again before the voice could wake her completely.

Wait... Papa? Vanilla and lilac?

Emma felt long, delicate, strong fingers brush along the length of her arm.

Familiar fingers. Fingers she'd watched dance through complicated patterns and gestures over and over as she tried to mimic their mastery only a handful of hours ago. Fingers that had combined a half dozen common ingredients and an open flame and turned them into a meal fit for a King.

Or a Queen.

Regina's fingers.

* * *

"Mom?"

"Yeah kid?" Emma shifted the fishing poles to her other hand as Henry crowded against side to talk to avoid being overheard by the woman striding through the underbrush in front of them.

"Are we lost?"

" 'Course not. I know exactly where we are."

"You do?"

"Yeah." Emma put her free hand out to stop Henry as Regina came to a halt and looked around before unfurling the map in her hand. "We're in the woods."

"You know you're not funny, right?"

"Please, I'm hilarious."

Regina looked up from the map and pointed twenty degrees to the left. "This way."

* * *

What now? Should she say something? Should she just get up and leave? Would doing either of those wake her up? Was she awake already? If she was awake, why wasn't she pulling away.

Unknown to either woman, those same thoughts raced through both Emma and Regina's mind as they lay together, each too lost in her own silent panic to notice that the other had frozen up, that Emma's soft breath no longer played against Regina's unguarded neck or the Regina's fingers had ceased their gentle exploration and now clung to Emma's arm.

Or the way the other's heart was pounding inside their chest.

Emma opened her mouth to fill her lungs so that she could push out the words caught in her throat.

And inhaled a mouthful of Regina's hair in the process.

A growl cleared Regina's throat as she pulled away from the now coughing Emma, the brunette's back quickly pressed to the tent wall, distending the fabric outward as she tried to put as much distance between them as she could. Just as quickly, Emma rolled onto her other side as she tried to get her rebellious lungs back under control.

“Emma.”

“I didn't-”

“Where's Henry?”

* * *

Henry double checked that the truck's gearshift was firmly in the parked position before he pushed the key into the ignition and gave it a turn. A series of clicks followed. Henry rose up in the driver's seat to eye the hood suspiciously before smacking himself in the forehead.

“Gas.”

Henry shuffled down as far as he could in the seat, gripped the key, and tried again; this time with his foot pushing down on the pedal.

The clicks turned into a deep throated rumble. “Hah-ha! Success!” Henry wriggled back up then leaned across the bench seat to pop open the glove compartment and pull out the missing piece of his plan.

A few more seconds of work later and Emma's phone started to charge up.

* * *

Henry. Another cough shook Emma's shoulders as she eyed the empty spot that should contain her son. Her eyes darted around the tent as she sat up.

“Ow!”

Both women fell back to opposite sides of the tent, each rubbing a hand against the side of her head.

“Really, Miss Swan?”

“That wasn't my fault.”

“So I suppose it was someone else who just launched herself at me without warning.” Snapped Regina as she leaned forward to kneel the edge of her mattress.

“I didn't launch myself anywhere.” Emma snapped back as she mirrored Regina's stance, both women glaring at the other. Both women knowing their little head-bump had nothing to do with their stand-off and neither woman willing to address what did.

Not yet.

“He wouldn't have gone far.” Emma turned towards the exit and yanked the zipper open.

Regina turned her head away from the sight of Emma crawling from the tent.

What she wouldn't give for a good memory spell.

* * *

_SNOW JR: Magic lesson worked. Mom made a fireball... sort of._

_SNOW JR: Cooking lesson not so much._

_SNOW JR: More later. Have to get back before they wake up._

* * *

“Henry Daniel Mills, where have you been and what were you thinking leaving in the first place.”

Henry, his foot still hovering in the air mid step, came to an abrupt stop as he was confronted with the sight of both of his mother's bearing down on him from opposite sides of the camp.

“Seriously, kid. You are in so much trouble.”

“I left a note.” He said in his own defence.

Both mothers pulled up short.

“What note.” Emma asked. 

Henry edged around his parents towards the tent, never taking his eyes off the pair until he turned to crawl inside. He emerged a few seconds later with a scrap of paper in his hand.

“This note.”

Regina was closest so she reached Henry first to read it.

“Phone low. Gone to truck to charge it. Be back soon. P.S. Please don't be mad if you wake up before I get back.” She folded the page, ignoring the short snort of laughter from Emma's direction, then handed the note back to Henry.

“You shouldn't have gone without one of us. What if you got lost?

Henry shrugged. “You'd both find me. You always do.”

Emma and Regina both studied the ground while Henry zipped the tent shut.

“Can we go fishing today?”

* * *

"Slow and steady." Emma instructed as both she and Henry watched the small half red, half white float bob up and down in river's current. "It's all about patience, Henry. You gotta wait for the fish to come to you, try and reel it in too soon and you'll scare it off."

Henry nodded, either too intent on the task or too worried his voice might scare his prey away before his impatience could.

Emma glanced over her shoulder to where Regina was leaning against a tree several yards back, her face half concealed by the map. "Remember, slow and steady." She gave Henry's should a pat before leaving him by the river bank and making her way as casually as she could over to Regina.

Well, near her.

"You found it."

"Uh-huh."

Emma curled her lips over teeth then pulled them apart with a faint *pop* She didn't want to have this conversation anymore than Regina did but they still had another day and half out here and the longer they avoided it the harder it was going to make it to get through this weekend without dragging Henry into it. And that wasn't fair to the kid. Especially since it wasn't like it meant anything because they were both asleep when it happened and you couldn't be mad at someone for what they did in their sleep.

Or said.

Emma shoved her hands into her back pockets as she twisted at the waist to look back at Henry.

"You used magic, didn't you?"

The slight pause before she heard the rustle of the map was all the answer Emma needed.

"Gonna teach me that trick?"

"It's not a trick. It's a spell."

"Same thing."

"No, Miss Swan, it isn't. Things don't mean what you want them to mean, they mean what they are. You can't change the meaning of what you say just because you want to."

Still with the Miss Swan... Emma dipped her head. "I'll sleep in the truck tonight." When Regina didn't reply, she turned and headed back towards Henry

She made it three steps.

"Wait."

The sound of the map being hastily folded behind her filled the gap before Regina spoke again. "Henry would ask questions."

Of course. Henry. Not that Emma could blame Regina for being more worried about their son than her comfort, she'd do the same. Henry was the one thing they would always agree on, even when they disagreed on what was best for him. Henry always came first.

But it still... Emma shrugged. "He hasn't yet."

"And I'd like to keep it that way."

Emma was about to ask what they'd do if he did when an excited cry from Henry put an end to their conversation.

"I got one! I got one!

Emma pulled her hands from her pockets and quick jogged back to Henry's side Regina arriving a half step behind her. "Easy. Remember s-"

"Slow and steady." Henry spoke over Emma, his eyes never leaving the float as it dipped beneath the surface, his arms shaking with excitement along with the tension on the line that vibrated down the rod.

The trio held their breath as the float grew closer with every turn of the reel until a mutual gasp escaped all three when a flash of silver broke the surface of the water.

"You almost got it, Kid. Just a little more." Emma encouraged

"You can do it, Henry. You're so close." Regina cheered.

As one, both their hands reached for Henry in support.

The two glanced down as their fingers brushed then up at each other until the twang of snapping nylon made them both pull back.

"Dammit!" Henry cursed as he looked at the frayed end of his broken line, too caught up in his own frustration to notice the absence of the usual reprimand his colourful choice of words would normally earn him. "It got away."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 28 05 2015 (28th, May)
> 
> So... what d'y'all think? I know I said things with Emma and Regina would progress slowly and I still stand by that but this chapter turned out a little more Swen development heavy than I expected. Not much and it could be argued that they're only marginally closer (and possibly further) from a happily ever after than they were at the end of the last chapter, but still.
> 
> Oh, and for anyone who has read [A Little Noise Never Hurt Anyone... Yet](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3966289) and has wondered if there's a chance it will be updated; the answer is now officially 'Yes' and you can blame, er, thank [JadedBlade](http://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedBlade/pseuds/JadedBlade) for that and for what may be the single most insane Blue Fairy plot-line to ever grace the inside of my head, let alone the pages of AO3.
> 
> Revised: 11 06 2016 (11th, June) - Minor editorial changes


	12. Seeing Red?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Swan by any other name would swim as sweetly... or at least she would if she had a swimsuit that she wouldn't have to arrest herself for wearing. 
> 
> Damn it Ruby!

They had a late breakfast of salad — at Regina's insistence — and fish caught by Henry — with an assist from Emma — grilled to perfection by the Regina with no help from Emma what-so-ever. Not because of her poor performance during her cooking lesson the night before, but because she was too squeamish to gut and prep the two mid sized trout that made up the morning's catch than; something Regina took great delight in teasing the 'saviour' about as she took on the chore. The fact that she did so without using magic only added to Emma and Henry belief that Regina also took a little too much delight in pulling out the entrails as they watched her gut and fillet their future meal.

Not that either complained with the results.

" 'S'gug'mum."

"Don't talk with you mouth full, Henry." Regina chastised her son as she expertly pierced her fork through several of the wild blueberries they'd picked on the way back. "And thank you."

"Yeah kid," Emma lifted her own overfull fork from her plate and emptied it into her mouth, " 'D'n'tg'whi'yr'muff'll."

Regina's dry, "Charming" caused both of her dining companions to spray their food on the ground lest they choke themselves while laughing.

The brunette gave a small shake of her head as she used her knife to cut a small bit from her trout. "Idiots."

* * *

"Mom," Henry handed his now clean plate to Emma to dry ("I cooked, Dear. That means someone else does the cleanup."), "How'd you get so good at fishing?"

Behind the pair, Regina sat up a little straighter.

"I, uh... Actually your grandma gave me some pointers while we were shopping."

Henry tilted his head to the side as he tried to imagine his former teacher and grandmother fishing. "Really?"

"Yeah. Turns out she was pretty good back in her bandit days. Well, until she met Ariel. Then she kinda went off fish for a while."

Regina's bark of laughter caused Henry to look over his shoulder and Emma to sigh.

* * *

"Listen, Ki- Henry," Emma dropped onto the log next to Henry, craning her head left then right as she made sure Regina was still off gathering more firewood before turning to her son. "About this morning..."

Henry lowered Emma's phone to his lap and looked up as far as her chin. "Is this about the truck?" He'd been kinda hoping they'd forgotten about that when they'd agreed to go fishing. He should have known it wasn't going to be that easy.

"What? No. I mean you shouldn't have taken off like that but no, that's not what..." Emma trailed off. Maybe she should just let it go. Henry hadn't asked about it which meant he either hadn't seen anything weird before he'd left, or he didn't want to talk about it if he did.

Or... He had seen his moms curled up together and didn't think there was anything weird about it...

Which was too weird for Emma.

"Actually, yeah this is about the truck. I don't want you doing that again, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good... And no more phone for the rest of the trip." Emma took her cell back from Henry who was wise enough no to protest so light a punishment. "And stay here till your Mum gets back."

Henry watched Emma walk off into woods before he got up from the log and disappeared into the tent. His head poked back into view a few seconds later to make sure he was still alone before he crawled out and got to his feet, his backpack hanging from his shoulder.

* * *

"Pick up, Rubes, pick up." Emma mumbled. Her eyes roamed over the woods, as much to distract herself from the conversation to come as to make sure she had the privacy to have it. She cast another glance over her shoulder towards the camp. 

"Hi."

"Rubes, it's E-"

"I'm either working or off being awesome so leave your message at the beep and I'll get back to you whenever the hell I want."

Emma sighed before ending the call. Maybe it was better this way. Ruby would only blow the whole thing out of proportion and try to convince Emma that her it was her subconscious at work and not exhaustion after a full day of hauling a few hundred pounds of camping equipment around and setting up said equipment, followed by her first magic lesson which was way more draining than Emma thought it would be. And that was just waking up in each other's arms. If she mentioned the whole 'love you' bit, she'd never hear the end of it.

Yeah, definitely for the best... except that Emma didn't have anyone else should could talk to about what happened. Regina was avoiding her still, subtly mind you, but Emma had had enough experience getting the cold shoulder from the former Queen to recognize when she was being intentionally frozen out. Henry... Emma still wasn't sure what the kid had or hadn't seen that morning and if he hadn't seen what he might have seen than Emma wasn't going to tell him about what he hadn't seen. And even if he had, that wasn't the kind of thing a mom talked about with her kid. She was still squigged out over some of the conversations she'd have with Snow back when she was Mary Margaret.

Which was why her parents weren't even an option to start with. Not least because the thought of having that conversation with Snow was literally the last thing in the world Emma wanted to do. Things between her folks and Regina were a tenuous calm at best. As much as Regina had done to change, Snow and Charming couldn't quite separate the woman sharing their grandson with their daughter from the woman they'd known back in the Enchanted Forest.

Possibly the one advantage Emma had in that regard; the only Regina she knew was Storybrooke Regina and as big a pain-in-the-ass as that Regina had been at the start, Emma could see that that Regina cared every bit as much for Henry as Emma could have hoped his adoptive parents would and every bit as much as she did. Made it a lot easier to relate.

When they were relating and not, like now, avoiding each other because of how close to relating with each other they'd gotten in their sleep.

If only she hadn't been so damn warm... or smelled so damn good.

Emma took a deep breath in through her nose to clear her head.

And froze. Lilac and vanilla tickling her senses.

"Get it together, Swan."

"Talking to yourself, Dear? Typically cabin fever takes longer to set in... and usually involves a cabin. Hence the name."

Relief that her imagination wasn't playing tricks on her quickly mixed with mild embarrassment and a dash of tension as Emma turned around. "Regina."

"Where's Henry?"

"Back at the camp."

"Alone?"

"He's twelve, Regina. Not stupid. Besides, I told him to stay put."

Regina's expression made it clear how she felt about Emma's answer but just to make it clear, she added, "You have met our son, yes?"

"Yes." Emma slipped her hands into her pockets before shooting a glance back towards the camp. "And I'm sure he's still... close."

"Hmph." Regina thin lipped as she walked past Emma on her way towards the camp to drop off her armload of firewood.

Emma fell into step behind her. There was no point staying out here if she wasn't going to talk with Ruby and on the off chance Henry had wandered off, she wanted to head off any I-told-you-so's by tracking the kid down asap and giving him a verbal what for. And on the off chance he was where she'd left him, Emma wasn't above a little I-told-you-so gloating of her own.

Her eye — which had been fixed on the ground as she picked her way through the undergrowth and uneven footing — flicked up and without any conscious thought on her part, Emma's hand reached out to pluck an errant twig from Regina's hair.

Regina pulled up short, forcing Emma to do the same.

"Did you just-"

"No." Emma shoved the twig still in her hand into the same pocket as her phone.

"If that's the case, how did you know what I was going to ask?"

_Shit._

"...I didn't. But since I didn't do anything, the answer's still going to be no."

"And if I was going to ask if you heard something?"

_Double shit._

"Were you?"

It felt like forever as Emma waited for Regina to call her bluff. It could have been a coincidence that the mayor had chosen that moment to stop. Maybe she really had heard something. Maybe Henry wandering around or calling for them. Or maybe some hikers in the woods. That was a thing right? People did that when they weren't part of a search party trying to deal with whatever craziness was threatening to destroy them that week, didn't they?

Regina, without answering, resumed walking back to camp.

Or maybe she'd just called Regina's bluff.

* * *

Henry was sitting exactly where Emma had left him, on the log that they'd pressed into service as general seating, but the way his eyes tracked both of his parents as they entered the campsite told them that he was, or at least had been, up to something before their arrival. But since he was where he was supposed to be, and nothing seemed out of place, neither woman pressed the point. 

"You look kind of sweaty, Mum."

"I see your son lives up to your family name." Regina said wryly as she added her firewood to the pile they'd collected yesterday.

"Swan?" Emma asked, confused. "And why is he suddenly my kid, not ours."

"Because the son I raised would know better than to say something like that." Regina turned towards the campfire to add a few branches to the low flame they had going. "And I was referring to your father's name, dear."

"David?"

Despite herself, a smile cracked Regina's lips. "Charming," she looked up at Emma, "unlike your bumbling antics just now."

"I wasn't bumbling." Emma replied. "And technically, 'Charming' is a nick name. My family name is..." She trailed off. What the hell was her family name. She'd kept Swan after the curse broke because she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her roommate — her younger roommate — was actually her mother along with being Snow White and everyone else in town were straight out of her son's book of fairy tales including his adoptive mom who just so happened to be the Evil Queen. Between that and the whole magic is real and pretty much trying to kill us every chance it gets, it was only fairly recently that she'd even started getting used to calling her parents 'mom' and 'dad'. Taking on the family name had never crossed her mind.

She turned to Henry who had tried his best to stay out of the conversation ever since the 'know better' line. "Kid, what is our last name?"

"Mills?" Henry offered with a half smile and the hope of regaining some brownie points.

"Nice try." Regina squashed that hope as she got to her feet and dusted her hands off. "Royalty don't have last names, Dear. Not officially."

"What does that mean, 'not officially'?"

"It means that, despite your manners, you're Royalty and Royalty don't have last names."

"Bullshit." Emma said, only to clear her throat when Regina gave her a pointed look. "I mean, uh, that can't be right. The Queen of England has a last name, doesn't she."

"I think you'll find that that's technically the name of her royal house, not her surname. Regardless, what holds true here does not mean it holds true back in the Enchanted Forest and I can assure you, Dear, that Royalty there have no last names. We are the Crown and the Kingdom; inseparable, united, one and the same."

"So my last name is 'Enchanted Forest'?"

Regina sighed. "You do know you aren't amusing, don't you?"

"Please, she's hilarious." Henry said, earning a grin from Emma and a disappointed frown from Regina. "Don't look at me. That's what she said when I told her the same thing."

"Regardless," Regina turned back to Emma — who made no attempt at hiding her smile "and ignoring your attempt at humour-"

"Hey."

"-no your last name is not 'Enchanted Forest'." Regina continued over Emma's objection. "It isn't anything. But since you can't seem to wrap your head around that fact, perhaps this will suffice; since your mother did ascend to the throne before... the curse, you would be considered part of her dynasty and so you could claim 'house of Snow White" as your formal title."

"That's an even bigger mouthful than Enchanted Forest."

"There's always 'Blanchard'. Or 'Nolan' if you prefer."

Emma tested both in her head and just as quickly dismissed either possibility. No, Swan would do just fine.

"Or Mills." Henry offered up again. "I mean, you were Queen too and you were married to Snow's Dad so that makes her and Emma both part of your house, doesn't it."

"No." Regina said with a finality that cut off any further discussion before it could get started.

But not before Emma tried it out in her head. Emma Mills... Yeah, Ruby was never going to hear about this.

"So," Henry said, drawing the single syllable out for several seconds, "back to Mum looking sw- hot, anyone want to go for a swim."

* * *

Ruby was so going to hear about this! And then Emma was going to turn her into a fur coat. She'd need something to cover up the barely there bikini that had taken the place of the far more sensible one piece Emma remembered packing. And even that had been daring compared to the surprisingly conservative suit Regina had on when she'd stepped out of the tent a few minutes earlier. Almost disappointingly conservative, really. Not that she wanted to see Regina in the beach equivalent of one of her Evil Queen outfits. But at least then she wouldn't have felt quite so bad about the tiny red triangles barely filling her palm.

"Please tell me that's an extremely small handkerchief and not your idea of appropriate swimwear."

"It's Ruby's." Emma shoved the bikini into her bag.

"And you brought it along as a keepsake?"

Emma started to look through her bag again, more for an excuse not to face Regina while she thought up an excuse than out of any hope that her fifth time searching for her missing bathing suit would meet with any more success than the previous four. There was no way she could tell Regina the truth. Not if she wanted Ruby or herself to survive the fall out. Though right now she wasn't so worried about Ruby. "I... guess it got mixed up in the laundry."

Behind Emma, Regina's jaw flexed. "I wasn't aware that you and Miss Lucas were so... domestic."

"Guys." Henry called from outside the tent. "Are you gonna be much longer?"

"Hold your pants on." Emma called back.

"May I?"

"May you wha-" A cloud of purple smoke swirled around Emma, cutting off both the blonde's question and her vision until it faded back into the nothing it came from, leaving Emma's skin tingling with residual magic.

And on display.

Emma looked down to find her long sleeved top gone along with her jeans and in their place a not-quite-skin-tight black one piece with a mostly modest neckline. At least it looked black at first glance but colours danced across the material as she twisted to face Regina and she stopped to take a closer look, alternately pushing her stomach out and sucking it in to watch the rainbow play against the midnight fabric. So... black... but iridescent.

Nice.

“I-”

“With apologies to Miss Lucas.” Regina had already withdrawn from the tent by the time Emma turned around.

“C'mon Mom, It's your turn to use the map.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 02 06 2015 (2nd, June)
> 
> First off, as I mentioned in a comment on the last chapter, occasionally characters take a left when you want them to go straight (or right) and this happened about half way through this chapter (actually, a little more like a third given how this chapter turned out). The original draft of Emma and Regina's conversation in the woods took on a far more adversarial tone than I had planned and ended with Regina dragging Emma off for her second magic lesson, not with the chat about last names or the swim trip prep (and Ruby's sneaky attempt to get Emma to show a little skin). I more or less got them back to where I wanted them, even if I'm only mid 90s ish happy with the result but I am happy with where it leaves off so... yeah. 
> 
> And speaking of the chat about Royal names, I'm sort of sure I got the bit about the Queen of England mostly right, or at least right enough for my purposes but I'm also only slightly less sure that I got it entirely wrong. Either way you can blame a quick wiki search and my own no doubt mangled interpretation of same for any errors that may have survived. Either way, I wanted to poke a little fun at what has always been a pet peeve of mine with the show which is that none of the Royals seem to have a last name (at least not according to my own memory and the OUAT wiki). And no, White isn't Snow's last name. Snow White, with skin as white as snow... it's a combo deal. It should probably be hyphenated, really. 
> 
> Revised: 13 06 2016 (13th, June) - Minor editorial changes
> 
> I stand by what I said earlier, it should be Snow-White. Or Snowwhite if you prefer to compound it instead.


	13. Swimming Can Stir Up More Than Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturday continues for our intrepid trio and with a new bathing suit in hand (or on body, technically) Emma, Henry and Regina head to the lake for a swim where someone gets a little hot under the collar.
> 
> Good thing the water's so cold.

Whether it was an extension of her innate ability to always find whoever she went looking for, or hard won experience charting her way from city to city in search of her next bounty — or trying to outrun her past — Emma wasn't sure. It could even be as simple as the hours she'd spent looking at this map in particular given how many times stopping some rising evil from befalling the citizens of Storybrooke involved tromping around though the woods. Whatever the cause, Emma managed to find the lake with an ease she knew had to be frustrating for Regina even if the older woman refused to show it.

"Coldcoldcoldcoldcold!"

Emma shook her head as she watched Henry hop back up the small strip of sandy soil that served as a beach. "You're the one that wanted to go swimming." She pointed out as she approached the waterline. "Besides, it can't be that c-Holy Shit that's cold!"

"Language, Dear." Regina chided from her spot further up the shore where she was laid out on a spare blanket.

"Told you." Henry added as he moved to stand beside Emma, the pair looking out at the lake as the rubbed their arms.

"Oh sweet Lurline."

Mother and son turned to see Regina rise from her blanket. Only one of them noticed the way she reached back to adjust the fit of her suit.

You'd think magic could take care of that. Speaking of which...

"What are you doing?" Emma asked as Regina, hand upraised and shoulder height, approached the lake.

"I would think it would be obvious."

"You can't heat an entire lake with magic."

"Correction, you can't. I most certainly can."

"I didn't- I meant you shouldn't."

Regina stopped a few feet shy of Emma, her hands still high. "Why not?"

"Because you can't just toss magic around to fix things whenever you want, for one. And for another, there are things living in that lake-"

"Why do you think I opted for the blanket, Dear?"

"-and you can't go mucking up their home." Emma continued. "What happens if you turn the whole thing into fish soup?"

"I'm not planning to boil the thing, Emma. Just raise it a few degrees so that you two can have your swim."

"It doesn't matter."

Henry looked back and forth between his moms, not sure which side of the debate he was on. On one hand while he was less worried about it turning her bad then he used to be, he still worried about Regina using magic too often. But on the other, he really wanted to go swimming.

After several more seconds, Regina lowered her hands. "Fine."

"Thank you."

"I'll teach you how to take care of it yourself."

"Regina!"

"Rule one, dear."

"Screw rule one. Me turning the lake into fish soup isn't any better than you doing it."

"First of all," Regina stepped closer to the blonde, "I have no intention of teaching you how to heat the entire lake."

"But you just said-"

"Don't interrupt." Regina waved her finger in front of Emma's mouth.

Emma's follow up comment turned into an indecipherable muffle when her lips refusing to open. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at Regina.

Regina smiled. "Rule one, dear."

Emma's eyes narrowed a little more.

"Now, as I was saying. I will teach you how to deal with the cold."

"Mum."

Regina didn't need to hear any more than that to know what Henry was thinking. With another wave she released Emma's mouth.

"Oh don't be such a baby." She said after a few seconds of watching Emma work her jaw open and shut.

"Bite me."

"Mom."

Emma shot Henry a look that was mostly innocent and only partially apologetic. "What?"

Henry shook his head and sighed. The both of them were impossible.

"If we can get back to the task at hand." Regina held out her hand, palm up, and summoned a fireball. "Your turn."

"I don't think fire and water mix."

"Henry."

Henry sighed, then lowered himself to sit cross legged in the sand. "Rule one, mom."

"Traitor." Emma held out her hand to match Regina's and closed her eyes as she recalled last nights lesson. It only took a few seconds to feel the tingle of magic run down her arm and the heat against her palm. A far cry from the minutes it had taken the first time she'd been successful. Her eyes opened.

"Whoa."

"Still not quite up to par." Regina eyed the plum sized orb of flame hovering above Emma's hand — an improvement on last night's dot but still several sizes smaller than the one over her own palm. "But it will do."

"It'll do? It's freaking huge."

Regina sighed. "Concentrate!"

"Sorry." Both Henry and Emma said, the former getting a curious glance from the latter before Regina's voice snapped them both around.

"Henry move back."

"Aww, do I have too"

"Yes."

Emma cast a brief glance in his direction. "Rule one, kid." She told him with no small sense of satisfaction, then added a more maternal, "it's safer that way."

He dug his toe into the grainy silt under foot, a soft huff of breath expelled from his chest before he pushed himself back to his feet and headed for Regina's empty blanket.

"Focus. Can you feel the energy fuelling the fire?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Yes or no, Emma."

"I don't know. What is it supposed to feel like?"

"Like-" Power. Like the thrill that used to run through her each time she and Daniel would steal a kiss in secret. Like the first time she'd held Henry in her arms. Like- "our first fight."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Is this more 'anger equals magic' magic?"

"Will you just concentrate?"

"Fine." Emma closed her eyes again, her mind split between keeping the spell going and remembering their first fight so that she could compare how the two felt. Close... but not close enough. Her memory drifted over other confrontations, other moments where Regina had gotten under her skin, each similar but none quite the same sensation.

Not until the one memory where she'd got under Regina's skin. She opened her eyes, her lips curling into a half smile. "You were wrong."

Regina's brow arched in curiosity only to lower again a few seconds later in understanding. "My tree."

"Your tree." Emma confirmed.

_Figures._

Regina pushed the memory to the back of her mind along with the little slice of insight into Emma's inner workings that came with it.

"So you can feel it?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now make it cover your whole body."

The ball of fire in Emma's hand blinked out. "What? I know setting myself on fire is going to make me warmer but-"

"Trust me, Emma."

The blonde stared into Regina's eyes... and nodded. A breath filled her lungs as the fireball reappeared in her hand.

"Focus on that feeling. Let it flow around you, let it spread along your skin. Keep it close. Concentrate." Regina could see that Emma was struggling with the magic; not with keeping it under control, but letting it flow freely.

"Trust yourself, Emma."

She can still see the hesitation in those green eyes staring back at her and she's about to call off the whole thing when she feels the shift in the air, the fireball in her hand growing smaller as Emma's eyes get bigger.

"Whoa."

"Stay focused." Regina fought back a smile. This spell was far more dangerous than she let on. Not life threatening but still enough that she needed to keep Emma focused until she knew the other woman could control the spell as it rode that knife edge between control and chaos that was so very Emma Swan.

Speaking of chaos. Regina watched Emma's hips give a little wiggle, followed quickly by another as the blonde bit down on her bottom lip while she shifted her weight from one foot to the other while.

Regina shook her head.

_Child_

“Do you need to use the facilities, Dear?”

Colour crept across Emma's cheeks, her thighs squeezing together as she shot a quick glance in Henry's direction then looked down at the ground and shook her head.

Regina's eyebrow rose as Emma' drew in a sharp breath through her nose, her hips giving another wriggle. “Is something wrong with the spell.”

“God I hope so.” Emma said, her voice tinged with urgency and something harder to place.

“Does it hurt?” Regina stepped closer in concern, ready to grab hold of Emma's hand to absorb the spell before it could do too much damage, not wanting or willing to waste the time it would take to talk Emma through discharging the magic safely herself if she was in distress.

The short laugh that leapt from Emma only deepened Regina's confusion and concern.

“Not exactly.”

“I don't-” Regina's other eyebrow rose as she noted the glint in Emma's eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah. Next time warn a girl, will ya."

"If I'd known, I would have?"

Emma's hip gave another wriggle. "You mean it's not supposed to do this."

"Not when I've used it, no."

Emma's eyes fluttered closed as a tremble ran down her spin. “How do I?”

Instead of replying, Regina closed her hands around Emma's and promised herself she would forget the moan that slipped from the saviour's throat when their skin came into contact. She had other things to focus on right now; her own dark magic couldn't control Emma's light but it could guide it, bleeding it into the earth until the moist ground below them steamed slightly.

"Better?"

"Depends."

It takes several seconds for Regina to catch herself watching the grin on Emma's face — a mix of embarrassment and taunting. She steps back, Emma's hands released in the process. "Now who's making jokes."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's as much my doing as yours."

A ribald thought ran through Emma's head but she's quick to bite her tongue. Some jokes you just don't make. Especially now that they seemed to have moved past what happened that morning.

"Any idea why it did... that?"

"None I feel confidant enough in to speculate about."

Emma nodded her head as she looked over at Henry. "And that never happened to you?"

"No." Regina answered, compelled for reasons she couldn't explain to add, "Not with that spell at least."

* * *

Ruby pulled the pillow away from her face, her tongue rolling around in an attempt to remove the taste of morning from her mouth even if it was technically the afternoon in this case. Her shift at the Sheriff's office had been even more boring then she'd thought it would be, Henry's text messages the only even remotely exciting part of the evening. Not even a cat caught up a tree — Ruby's least favourite call and one she had been formally banned from taking after the incident that happened the last time her canine nature had come face to claw with Cinderella's daughter's furry beast.

The dull had been so intense it actually exhausted her. After Grumpy had shown up to relieve her for the day shift, she'd headed straight for her bed and the moment her head hit the pillow she'd been out like a light. Thankfully she's already cleared her schedule at the dinner or Granny would have dragged her out of bed — rested or not — and she'd have probably snapped at a half dozen customers by now.

Hell hath no fury like a sleep deprived werewolf. 

Speaking of now, when the hell was it? Ruby rubbed the sand from her eyes with one hand while patting the other across her nightstand until it closed around her cell phone. She brought it up to her still blurry eyes and blinked twice.

“Shit.” 

It wasn't the time that burned off the last of her drowsy state. It was the list of notifications on her phone. Three texts from Henry — she could tell by the snippets of the messages visible — and a missed call that she knew was from Emma without even hearing it.

Skipping Henry's texts, she quickly dialed into her voice mail.

* * *

“So can I go swimming now?” Henry asked as Regina joined him on the blanket.

“Only if you're willing to get a little cold.”

“But Mom's swimming.” He pointed towards Emma as she reached waist deep water and ducked herself.

“She... needed to cool off after her lesson.”

“So she learned the spell.”

“More or less.” Regina replied as she slid her sunglasses back onto her nose, her eyes fixed on the sight of golden locks slicked against the pale skin exposed by the half back of Emma's suit when she resurfaced, shoulders trembling.

“What does that mean?”

“It means she still has a lot to learn.” Regina dropped her head back. “But she's improving.”

* * *

No message.

None.

Just the sound of a sigh.

What the hell was going on out there?

Ruby was half tempted to break the mission protocol she'd worked out with Henry before he left and text him for an update but if Emma had been the one to call her — and Ruby's hearing was good enough that she'd bet the sigh had belonged to no one but the Sheriff herself — the odds of her friend reading it first were too high. She'd have to wait for Henry to report in later.

Or come up with an excuse to run into them in the woods.

Ruby tilted her head to the side and ran a hand through the wild mess that was her normally well coiffed hair -- hell hath no bedhead like a werewolf either.

Could she?

Should she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 07 06 2016 (7th, June)
> 
> First off, fixed a minor error in the last chapter. I had cinnamon and vanilla for Regina's scent while I'd already set it as Lilacs and vanilla in the chapter previous. And shame on you for none of you noticing that ;P
> 
> Anyway, all fixed now. On to this chapter.
> 
> Holy Cow. where to ever start? The scene at the lake was supposed to take 1, maybe 2 pages tops (a chapter averages about 6 pages in the program I use to write them, or between 1800 and 2400 words based on the dialogue to narrative ratio. This one hit ~2200) and ended up 5 and a half. 
> 
> That's right folks, almost the whole damn chapter. And I hope to hell you liked it because I was this close to scrapping the whole thing as a 'deleted scene' and starting from scratch. If not for the fact that it also included another magic lesson (which had been on the drawing board for the last chapter) I probably would have. 
> 
> This chapter also marks my second (intentional) Wicked reference of the week (the first is in the latest chapter of _How To Ring A Belle_ so that helped tip the scales a little too. 
> 
> Meanwhile... how about that lesson, huh? No, seriously. That was not the lesson I had planned either so I'm genuinely curious. Also whether or not Ruby should pop in on our Campers or not (leaning more towards the not at the moment myself) 
> 
> Revised: 13 06 2016 (13th, June) Minor editorial changes


	14. Bet-ter Up.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All bets are... on? Henry's gonna be run ragged keeping track of who's ahead by the end of this camping trip and, quite probably, on the bad side of one of his moms to boot.

"Grumpy."

"Your Highness." The dwarf got out of Emma's chair and gave David the closest he could come to a respectful nod while he tried to adjust the holster around his waist.

"Just checking in before my shift tonight. Anything I need to know about?" Charming asked as he held out a take-away cup of Granny's famous coffee — black, no sugar, just how the town's third deputy liked it.

"Nope. Not so much as a noise complaint." Grumpy replied, sounding almost as bitter about the lack of action as the sip he took from the cup after taking if from David's hand. "Oh, yeah. That's the stuff."

David nodded, wiping a smear of dirt left behind by Grumpy's boot from the corner of his daughter's desk. "Any word from Emma."

"Not a one." Grumpy said, his coffee switched from one hand to the other so he could take hold of the grip of the service revolver in his holster. "Which, if you ask me, is all the reason we need to go and check on her. I don't care how many times Regina's helped us, I don't like Emma being alone with her like this."

David smiled to himself. The similarity between his wife's — know as one of the kindest, most caring people to ever exist while still being more than willing to hit you with a rock if you got in her way — reaction to this camping trip of Emma's, and Grumpy's — a dwarf who got his very name from being one of the most fractious, prickly people on the planet while also being someone David had personally watched once spend five minutes to shoo a spider outside — enough to both amuse him and make him wonder which of them had rubbed off on the other more over the years. 

"I'm sure they're fine." He said, hoping the same advice he'd given Snow would placate Grumpy as well. But in case it didn't, he added, "and would you want to be the one explain to either of them why you were checking up on them if they are?"

Grumpy coughed on a mouthful of coffee. After drying his mouth and scruffy beard on his sleeve, he said, "Uh, good point."

* * *

"Remarkable."

"Regina."

"No, Dear, I have to say I'm genuinely surprised."

"Please."

"I thought your culinary skills were next to nonexistent and then you manage to pull off something like this."

"I will pay you to stop."

"How on earth do you burn a sandwich?" Regina asked, the blackened remains held delicately between her thumb and forefinger as she fixed her eyes on the blonde. "I could almost understand if it was one of your grilled cheese monstrosities but peanut butter and jam, Emma? Really?"

"I was trying to toast it." Emma cried in self defence. "It's not like I have a campfire in my kitchen-"

"You barely have food in your kitchen."

"I'd like to see you do better."

Regina smirked. "As you Wish."

"Uh-uh-uh!" Emma waved a finger at the other woman as Regina lifted her hand to shoulder height. "Without using magic. I want to see you toast bread over a campfire without using magic. That means no floating bread, no summoning up something to hold the bread in. You have to do it using only what we have here right now."

Regina gave a quick glance around the campsite. "Fine." She turned back to Emma. "I accept your terms and now we discuss payment. If I manage to make toast over the campfire using only the supplies on hand, you will refer to me as 'Your Royal Majesty' for the rest of our stay."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously, your Royal Majesty." Regina corrected.

Emma shook her head. "Fine. But if I win and you can't do it, I want..."

"Mom?" Henry asked after several seconds of silence.

Emma held up a lone finger. "Gimme a sec, I'm thinking."

Regina rolled her eyes as she reached into their cooler and pulled out the bag of multigrain bread Emma had only included because it had been on the older woman's list.

"Ah-ha. I got it. If I win, you can't use magic for the rest of the weekend."

A mix of emotions flickered behind Regina's eyes before she asked, "With an exemption for your lessons?"

Emma hesitated for a moment or two before answering. "I guess."

Henry raised his hand. "Can I ask a question?"

"Shoot, kid."

"Does this bet cancel the first one or is it on top if it."

Regina — two slices of bread now in hand — and Emma exchanged a quick look.

"On top, Dear."

"Okay. As you were."

Both Mothers chuckled. Emma was the first to sober up. "So, we have a deal?"

Regina got to her feet and headed towards their stockpile or cookware. "Do we have a deal, your Royal Majesty?"

* * *

"It's not the same thing."

"It's not the same thing, Your-"

"No. That's not toast. You didn't toast the bread, you grilled it."

"The task was to prepare bread that crunched without burning it, which I've accomplished."

"No, the task was to make toast. As in dry toast. Not buttering up both sides and frying it in a pan. I could have done that."

"And yet you didn't."

"Because it changes the taste. No one wants a butter flavoured P B and J"

"Yes, who would want butter involved in their Peanut _butter_ sandwich."

"It's not the same thing and you know it." Emma turned to her son for a final judgement, arms crossed over her chest. Regina followed suit. "Henry?"

"Ahh..."

"It's all right, Henry. I'm sure Emma won't hold a grudge."

"Actually..."

"Ha!" Emma pumped her fist by her side. "Suck it, your Royal Highness. I win."

"Majesty."

"Whatever." Emma said as she gave Henry a high five after which their son gave Regina an apologetic smile.

"Idiots." Regina grumbled before she took a bite out of her failure.

* * *

"Homework time, Henry."

"But-"

"No buts, young man. We've been fishing, swimming, and eaten what was almost food-"

"I heard that."

"You were meant to, Dear." Regina said, her eyes never leaving her son, "and as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted-"

"And she knows rude." Emma mumbled.

"-we've had enough play time for now; it's time to do some work. And once you're done, we'll have the rest of the weekend free to have all the fun you want."

Henry gave her a look that matched the one she'd seen so many times on Emma's face when she'd tried to explained to the sheriff that if she did her paperwork at the end of each case, she wouldn't run out of time at the end of the day to do it and thus wouldn't have mountains of it weeks overdue. 

And much like it did with Emma, her logic utterly failed to convince their son of the benefit of her wisdom.

"What kind of homework are we talking about anyway." Emma asked as she looked between Henry and his other mother.

A smile curled Regina's lips.

* * *

"I don't think 'roses are red, violets are blue. Here is my poem, to thine own self be true' is gonna cut it, kid. Even if it does quote the bard."

"And what do you know of 'the bard'?" Regina asked, somehow managing through voice alone to include the air quotes.

"Enough." Emma looked over her shoulder to where Regina sat in a collapsible camp chair next to the tent.

Regina tugged her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose and peered over the rim, locking her eyes with Emma's "Do tell."

"You don't think I can, do you?"

"Let's just say that in all the time I've known you, you never struck me as a student of classical literature, Dear."

Emma swung one leg, then the other over the log as she turned around completely to face the older woman. "You of all people should know you can't judge a book by its cover."

"As I said, Dear, do tell."

The defiance in Emma's eyes flickered before her gaze fluttered towards Henry and for a moment, Regina felt a wave of disappointment at the thought that Emma might back down from her challenge.

Emma licked her bottom lips before she turned her eyes back to Regina then dropped her eyes to the ground and, after a pause, drew in a deep breath. "Take all my loves, my love, yea take them all," She began, her voice soft enough that Regina had to lean forward in her seat to better hearr it over the crackle of the small fire they'd kept going after lunch. "What hast thou then more than thou hadst before? No love, my love, that thou mayst true love call," Emma's voice grew stronger with each line and her eyes turned up to seek out Regina's. "All mine was thine, before thou hadst this more. Then, if for my love, thou my love receivest, I cannot blame thee, for my love thou usest; but yet be blam'd, if thou thy self deceivest by wilful taste of what thyself refusest. I do forgive thy robbery, gentle thief, although thou steal thee all my poverty: and yet, love knows it is a greater grief to bear love's wrong, than hate's known injury. lascivious grace, in whom all ill well shows, kill me with spites yet we must not be foes."

Silence save for the occasional pop from the low burning log filled the space between them, each holding the others gaze. 

"Wow, Mom, that was awesome."

Regina jerked up in her seat at the sudden interruption, then looked down at her lap as she brushed some unseen forest debris from her leg.

"Thanks, kid." Emma smiled for her son but never took her eyes from Regina.

"I admit, you've proven me wrong."

"Not for the first time, or the last time."

Despite himself, Henry let out a snort of laughter. 

"Indeed." Regina gave Henry a short, but stern look before locking eyes with Emma once again. "But this time, I can honestly say that I'm pleasantly surprised."

* * *

"Where'd you learn that poem?"

"Technically it's a sonnet."

"What's the difference?"

Emma looked over at her son and plucked a stray piece of carrot peeling off his cheek ("Even you can't mess up peeling potatoes, Swan." -- Regina), then shrugged. "I have no idea."

Henry rolled his eyes, his own set of half completed vegetable prep work for that nights dinner ignored as he stayed fixated on his first question. "So where'd you learn the sonnet?

For a moment, Emma considered lying to him. Some bits of her past she was very grateful had never, and would never, appear in his book. This was one of them.

"Are you two done yet?"

Henry glanced down at the half peeled carrot in one hand. "Not yet."

"Honestly, it's worse than trying to herd cats with the two of you. Go and get cleaned up, I'll help Emma finish."

"Gee, thanks."

Emma's aside went unanswered as Regina plucked the plastic safety peeler from Henry with one hand while the other gave their son a gentle pat towards the tent. "The wet wipes are in my purse."

"I know." 

Regina took up Henry's spot by the blonde's side and the pair continued their prep work in silence until Regina voice softly ended it.

"Where did you learn that sonnet?"

Emma looked over her shoulder to make sure Henry was still in the tent, then turned back and finished off her current peel with a stiff flick of her wrist. "Juvie. There wasn't a lot to do, especially once I started showing so I spent a lot of time in the library."

Silence reigned between them again until Regina leaned in a little closer. "You do know that that sonnet is a letter from one man to another who has stolen his mistress, don't you?"

"... No.” Emma turned a fresh potato over in her hands. “It just reminded me of someone at the time.”

“Henry's father?” Regina's voice was softer, almost hesitant.

That upset Emma more than the question itself. Neither of them were going to win any prizes for being open about their emotions or their pasts but Emma was one of the few people Regina did open up to and Regina was one of the few people she could do the same with. That Regina was worried she might be overstepping that connection they had, that trust... it stung a little.

“Yeah. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms and when I found that poem it, I don't know, it just kinda clicked.”

“Has Henry ever asked you about him?” Still that hint of uncertainty, but not quite as strong this time.

Emma put her still untouched potato back onto the pile and half turned towards Regina, her head continuing on to check the tent again before she met the other woman's eyes.

“A couple of times. I told him he was a firefighter and he died on the job.”

“That's not what happened.” It wasn't a question, or a judgment.

“No. He- We...”

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Emma.”

“I know... that's why I can.”

The sound of Henry crawling out of the tent pulled them out of their conversation and each took a step away from the other.

“Tonight, during your magic lesson.” Regina whispered.

“What, I already-”

“Yes. But I'd say we need to work a bit more on your emotional control and this sounds like a perfect opportunity to do both.”

“What are you guys whispering about?” Henry demanded to know as he slipped into the gap between them.

“Whether or not Regina's a better peeler than me.”

Henry looked up at Emma. “You have seen her in the kitchen, right? You are so gonna loose this one.”

“Thanks for the confidence booster, kid.”

“So what does the winner get?”

“Good question, Henry.” Regina smiled over her son's head at Emma. “What are your terms, Dear?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 14 06 2015 (14th, June)
> 
> For anyone curious, the poem (or sonnet if you prefer) that Emma says is Sonnet 40, by William Shakespeare (for those of you who don't know who 'the Bard' is). It's the first of a set of three and the bit about it being about a man writing to a (younger) man who has taken his mistress is true, at least according to the cliffnotes website. I chose it because I felt that, on the surface, it fit fairly well with what happened between Emma and Neal. I may be alone in that. 
> 
> Anyway, for those still counting (and recounting) I'm hoping that we're 2-3 chapters from the end of the camping trip. At that time I may continue the story under this title, or start a second 'book' with a new title. I haven't decided yet.
> 
> So, if you have any thoughts either way, let me know. In the meanwhile, as always, Hope you enjoyed it and for any comments, questions, corrections, or complaints just click on that little button below.
> 
> p.s. I may change the title for this chapter.
> 
> Revised: 16 06 2016 - Moderate editorial changes
> 
> Not all that moderate really but there are a few changes during Emma's deliver of her sonnet that may change the overall tone of the scene depending on your interpretation (does for me, and for the better I think) so just in case, upgraded to 'Moderate'. Otherwise it's just typos and minor formatting changes.


	15. A Stone In The Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow gets some Ruby-ed red cheeks, Emma and Regina have another magic lesson (and more) and David gets a free pass to the land of confusion. 
> 
> Seriously, it'll all make sense once you read it.
> 
> ... maybe

"Hey."

"Ruby?" Snow's face wrinkled in confusion as she turned to keep her eyes on her best friend after the other woman ducked under her arm to step into the apartment Snow shared with David and, to Emma's unvoiced dismay, Emma as well. "Not that I don't love spending time with you but... what are you doing here?"

"What? I can't visit my best bestie?"

Snow's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "If David sent you to keep my mind off Emma and her camping trip, you can go. He's already done his best to distract me and it hasn't worked."

Ruby, toying with a coffee cup someone had left on the island in the middle of the loft's kitchen slash dinning room, laughed. "Couldn't have tried his best if you're already vertical."

Confusion reclaimed Snow's face before being just as quickly replaced by reddened cheeks and wide eyes. "Ruby!"

"Oh please," Ruby grinned as she balanced the cup on one of its edges against the top of the counter and spun it like a top. "You two couldn't keep your hands off each other back in the day and you know it."

Snow scrambled forward to catch the cup before it spun off the island. "I'll have you know we waited till out wedding night." She gently placed the cup back on the island, this time well out of Ruby's reach, then added, "Mostly."

"Knew it."

"Why are you here?" Snow snapped, or tried to — the smile one face made it hard to sound as angry as she wanted to — as she turned the subject back to her prior inquiry and away from the nature and frequency of her sex life. With Emma around she'd become much more sensitive to that sort of talk given how much she knew it freaked out her daughter and still regretted some of the conversations they'd had as roommates before the curse broke.

"I had some time to kill and realized how long it's been since we hung out together." Ruby replied, stretching to reclaim her new toy before Snow could stop her.

"True." That had been another subject Snow had been tiptoeing around. She'd never told anyone about it — not even David — but a part of her was jealous that Ruby was spending so much time with Emma and not just because she had 30 years of Mother Daughter time to make up for. As stupid as it was, Ruby had been her friend first and it got under her skin every time heard Ruby was going to spend time with Emma instead of her. And that just left Snow feeling guilty. Emma had grown up with so few connections to anyone that as Emma's friend and Mother both, she should be overjoyed that Emma was forming the sort of bonds she'd been without for far too much of her life. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little left out every time she heard Ruby and Emma were going to be spending time together. Even if it was partly her own fault since she'd made excuses whenever Ruby had invited her to join them in those first few months after the curse had broken, wanting to give Emma time and room to come to terms with finally finding her parents and everything that came with it; fairy tales, evil queens, magic, and all.

"Hello. Earth to Snow."

"Hmm?"

"Welcome back. You want to tell me where you went or should I guess?"

Snow shook her head as she gave Ruby a _look_. "Ha. ha."

"I'm serious, you want me to call David and tell him he needs to come back and give you a good, har-"

"Ruby!"

Snow gave her head another shake as she watched Ruby's shoulders shake in mirth.

"I'm starting to see why we've spent so little time together lately."

"You don't mean that." Ruby reached out to take Snow's hand. "You know you love me."

"I know you're a pain in the butt."

"Yeah..." Ruby tilted her head to the side before turning her back to Snow. "But at least it's a cute butt." She punctuated her self-defence with a self-delivered slap across one half of her bottom.

"Sounds like you're the one in need of a good hard..."

Ruby, after several seconds, waggled her eyebrows at an increasingly red cheeked Snow White. "Go on."

"You get the point."

"Not often enough."

"Ruby!"

"Alright, alright. I promise no more innuendos." Ruby said as she tried to stem her laughter, one hand held up in surrender, the other drying tears from her eyes.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"No, c'mon. I mean it, Snow." Ruby gave her head a hard shake to rid herself of the last of her giggles but a smile still played around the corners of her mouth when she added, "I'll be a good girl. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Mmhmm..."

"I will. I'll even take you out to dinner if I don't."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." Ruby reached across the island to link her little finger with Snow's and the two shook on the deal.

"See, all good."

"Is lobster in season?" 

"Ha. Ha. Ha. You're hilarious."

Snow smiled. "I am."

Ruby shook her head. "Very attractive trait, so I hear."

Snow tilted her head to the side. "Ruby?"

"And speaking of attractive traits-"

"Ruby."

"How about Regina's ass?"

"RUBY!"

* * *

"Did you hear something?"

"The only thing I hear is your lack of focus."

Emma turned her head to give Regina a _look_. "That's ridiculous, You can't hear a lack of focus."

"And yet." Regina replied pointedly as she moved behind Emma and firmly turned the blonde's head back to where it should be with both of her hands. "Focus."

"The last time you told me to focus..."

"...Yes?" Regina asked after several moments of silence.

Emma grimaced at the amusement in Regina's voice. "You... never mind."

"Mmhmm."

"And this would be a lot easier if you weren't creeping around behind me like some sort of... creeper."

"Will you promise to focus if I move?"

Emma stared at the soccer-ball sized lump of stone lying on the ground several feet in front of her — still. "I promise."

"Fine. But for the record I would like to point out that, under rule one, I am perfectly entitled to stand wherever I like and you still need to do as I tell you." Regina said as she stepped around to take up her former position, to the left, and slightly in front, of the rock; arms crossed and a look of mild disappointment pulling at her mouth.

Honestly, it might have been easier to focus if Regina had stayed behind her.

"Yeah, yeah, rule one." Emma mumbled.

"Either speak up, or cease speaking. And in either case, focus."

"Yes Mistress." Emma snapped back, her cheeks immediately heating up as she caught the grin spreading across Regina's lips from the corner of her eye.

"Your Majesty will do just fine, Dear."

Emma bite her lip to stop herself from saying anything else that would give Regina the upper hand — or more material to taunt her with once they got back to civilization.

"Are we ready?" Regina asked as she leaned back against a tree little wider than the space between her shoulder blades and got a nod back from Emma. "Very well. From the top, Emma. Breath in... breath out... deep, steady, slow. That's right. Focus on your breathing until everything else is gone. Until it's just you and the stone."

_Be easier if you weren't talking._

"That's it... Now, when you're ready, reach out to the stone with your magic. Feel its weight, its solidity, let your magic wrap around it like a cloth."

"I can't-"

"Yes you can, Emma. You have the potential to be one of the most powerful magical users ever, maybe _the_ most powerful. You should be able to move mountains, literally, a pebble like this should be child's play."

Emma sighed. "Maybe I don't want to move mountains, you ever think of that?"

"Whether you want to or not, Emma, that power is inside you and it always will be. Learning how to use it is the only way you'll be able to control it so that you don't use it."

Emma tilted her head to the side. "That doesn't sound right?"

Regina sighed. "Which of us is the sorceress here?"

"And now you want to make me more powerful than you. How does that make sense." Emma turned to Regina, her hands crossed over her chest as she leaned back against a tree of her own."

"There's no 'want' involved, Emma. You are the product of tr-"

"True love, yeah yeah. And True Love is the most powerful magic of all but I've gone my whole life without moving any mountains or-" Emma dropped her eyes to her feet "boiling any lakes. What makes you think I'm gonna start doing it now without meaning to."

"Because you never lived where there was any magic before you idiot." Regina snapped.

"Don't yell at me."

"I'm not..." Regina lowered her head for a moment, then looked up. "I'm sorry, Emma, but these are the facts. That you haven't cast any spells by accident yet is, quite frankly, a miracle and if I've learned anything in my time it's that miracles can't be trusted. Not forever and rarely at all. If you never use your powers outside of our lessons, so be it. That's your choice. But if something happens because you couldn't control them, something to Henry or your Parents or... anyone else-"

"You mean you?" Emma looked up.

Regina pressed a hand to her stomach as she glanced away. "I mean anyone you care about, even if only in your role as the saviour." She turned back to Emma. "Would you forgive yourself if your magic hurt someone because you didn't know how to control it."

"... No."

"And do you trust me to teach you how to stop that from ever happening?"

"...Yes."

Regina brushed her hair back from her face then fumbled with her hands for a moment before placing them on her hips. "Good. Than can we try this again."

"But I can't-"

"Emma."

"No, I- just hear me out, okay. I tried. I did. But I can't feel my magic and even if I could how would I send it into the rock."

"Around the rock." Regina corrected, her arms crossing over her chest once more. 

"Whatever. I can't do it."

"But you felt your magic at the lake."

Emma felt her cheeks heat up again and she looked away a heartbeat before Regina did the same. "Yeah... I did."

Regina was the first to look back and found an Emma with shoulders hunched in and head ducked down. If she'd been sitting instead of standing Regina would say she had curled up into a ball. 

"Emma-"

"Look, I know I screwed up. I'm sorry. I know you're right and I need to learn all this but... I just can't, okay. I'm sorry. I-"

"For the love of Lurline, will you please shut up and just listen for 10 seconds. And before you open your mouth to prove you can't, I'm declaring this a rule one situation so failure to obey will result in punishment."

Emma bit her lip again, this time to stop herself from asking what sort of punishment Regina intended to give her.

Regina let out a little sigh. "Good." She took in a breath, held it as she looked up at the slivers of sky visible through the canopy of tree branches, then turned back to Emma. Her hand once again resting against her stomach. "Emma... I know this isn't easy for you. You grew up in a world where all of this, magic, your parents, even the world where you were born were nothing but stories in a book... and all because of me-"

"Regina-" Emma's head snapped up.

"No. Rule one, remember. I did this, Emma. I can't pretend otherwise anymore than you can pretend you don't have magic and I will have to live with what I've done for the rest of my life. That's my punishment and I'm not sure I don't deserve it even if I would do it all again-" Regina stopped, seeing the protest forming in Emma's throat. "Rule one. No Talking." Regina waited until Emma sunk back against her tree, her lips tight with how she felt about rule one. "I mean it, Emma. I would do it all again because Henry wouldn't exist if I didn't. I don't regret what I did because it brought me Henry, it brought me-" Regina swallowed. "It brought me a life I never thought I would have, a life as a mother. I don't regret that but I do regret what it cost you, Emma. And I don't blame you if you hate me for that, I know I deserve it because if anyone took my son... our son away from me-" Regina's other hand came to rest over the first. "Well, you know the lengths I will go to to keep my son."

A small smile tickled Emma's lips. A smaller one tickled Regina's. 

"And I'm sorry for that as well. But I can't change the past and I wouldn't even if I could. What I can do is try to make up for it and this... this is how I can start making it up to you because whether you think of your magic as a gift or a curse, it's a part of you, Emma. As much as your hair or your skin or your breath. As much as Henry. And I won't let you go through the rest of your life fearing who you are. Not when I can change that." Regina took a step towards Emma only to stop when Emma straightened up as she pushed herself off the tree. "I... I promise you that anything that happens during these lessons will stay between us. I've given you no reason to trust me and too many reasons to count not to but I promise you that."

"You're wrong."

"Emma-"

"No, you had your ten seconds and then some so now it's my turn. You. Are. Wrong. You've given me a reason to trust you."

Regina licked her lips. "I- What?"

" _Our_ Son."

Regina held her eyes on Emma's for several seconds. "Our son."

"That's-"

"No talking. Back to work." Regina spun around as she walked back to her tree. "And remember, Dear-"

"Focus." They said together.

* * *

"Breath."

Snow glared at Ruby who was alternately trying to rub Snow's back and stay out of Snow's reach. "Don't you tell me to breath you, you, you-"

"Bitch?" Ruby offered.

"Lunatic." Snow shouted back. "How could you even- I mean- My Emma and- and- and-"

"Regina."

"Lunatic." Snow swung an open palm at Ruby who easily ducked out of the way.

"C'mon, Snow. Is it really that-"

"Yes! Yes! It! Is! Why would you even put that idea into my head?"

"Because its true."

"NO! NoNoNoNoNoNoNo!"

"Snow-"

"Get out!"

Ruby stepped back, her eyes briefly leaving her best (former?) friend's face to the finger pointed firmly towards the loft's front — and only — door. "You don-"

"Out! Now! Or I'll turn you into a wolfskin coat."

Ruby licked her lips. She'd expected some resistance but not this much. Not from someone who knew better than anyone what True Love was like. 

"Snow-" She cut herself off this time when Snow turned towards the knife block on the counter on the far side of the kitchen.

_Shit!_

Ruby didn't wait to see if Snow was going to try and make good her threat, her high-heeled boots skidding against the floor as she raced towards the door."

"Ru-"

"Out of my Way!" Ruby shoved her way past David, barely slowing down as she did, and continued her headlong dash down the corridor, sparing only a last second "Sorry." as she disappeared round the corner.

"What in the-"

"Come back here you coward!" Snow shouted as she barrelled through the door and straight into David's chest.

"OOPH."

"Get out of my- David?"

"Yes Dear" David wheezed, one hand rubbing his chest as he tried to refill his lungs.

Snow, oblivious to the damage she'd done to her husband, looked down the hallway.

"Sweetheart," David gently placed his hands on Snow's shoulders and turned her to face him. "You wanna tell me what's going on?"

"No. I want you to take me to Emma." Snow turned on her heels and stormed back into their apartment. The last thing David caught before the door slammed in his face was "That lunatic!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 16 06 2016
> 
> The notes for this chapter read simply "The Stone Scene". That's it. It's a scene that was going to appear in an earlier chapter (13... I think) but for reasons I can only describe as 'Muses Misbehaving' that chapter took an unexpected turn and so it (the stone scene) was pushed off to a later chapter.
> 
> Though at the time I didn't expect it to be quite so... later. And for anyone interested, given the original version of the scene (which was half written before being pushed off) took on a decidedly different, more combative, tone before those 'misbehaving muses' got all frisky like.
> 
> Also, and lastly, for those freaked out over Snow's freak out; don't be. I promise it will all work out in the end. Mostly.
> 
> Maybe.


	16. Confessions Au Naturel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's better than the naked truth? 
> 
> If you're Emma Swan, just about anything. Especially when there's a massage on the line.

She was dead.

 _She was so dead._ If Snow didn't skin her, Granny would. And if Granny didn't, Regina would.

Assuming Emma didn't get to her first.

Why did Snow have to overreact like that? Granny could see they were meant to be — even if she did take a wait-and-see approach — so why couldn't Snow. You know, besides the whole Regina-killed-her-father-stole-her-throne-cursed-her-kingdom-and-seperated-her-from-her-newborn-daughter-while-stealing-her-memories-and-locking-her-in-an-endless-and-loveless-loop-for-thirty-years-give-or-take thing.

What was that compared to True Love?

And it wasn't like Snow couldn't forgive Regina for all of that; God, how many times had she listened to Snow back in the Enchanted Forest go on and on about how she knew there was still some goodness in Regina and if she could only make Regina see that too then everything would work out for everyone, even them. Okay, yes, that had been before the curse, but still; it wasn't like Regina had tried to kill her lately and they were practically family already because of Henry.

Or family again. Man that family tree was messed up.

Ruby shook her head, the tangled knot of Swan-Mills-Charmings wasn't the important thing right now. The important thing was surviving the fallout her little end run attempt had set off and since Snow would need a little more time to cool down — Ruby's lips curled up at the unintended pun despite her dire straights — and David was with Snow, and Granny would tan her hide before removing it, that really only left one option.

Well, two, technically.

They wouldn't kill her in front of Henry, right? Of course she'd have to get to them before Snow did. And she'd have to hope that in her current state, Snow wouldn't think to call them first. Either way time was wasting and Ruby didn't have that much to spare.

Pretty much none, in fact.

Which left her with exactly one option. Unfortunately it would also take Henry off the table as her personal saviour. 

Ruby peeked around the corner of Snows's building before she ducked into the nearest alley. If Regina didn't end her for what she'd already done, she'd sure as hell roast her on the spot for showing up stark naked in front of the kid. A disturbingly organic sound filled the air a few seconds before a large, silver-grey wolf stepped out of the alley, head raised as it sniffed the air. 

If she was lucky, it might make one of them jealous enough for the other to notice and they'd both forget about her.

The wolf lowered her head and took off running.

* * *

David gave his chest another rub as he closed the door behind himself; the click of the latch sliding into place given barely enough time to reach his ears before Snow's voice.

“Give me the keys to the truck.”

He looked over at his wife to see her pulling on her boots with both hands, her coat pinned to her side by her elbow.

“The truck's gone-”

Snow's head snapped up and faced David with a glare he hadn't seen since she'd hit him in the head with a rock. “What do you mean ' _gone_ '?”

“I mean-”

“You're the deputy Sheriff? How could you let someone steal our truck?”

David drew in a breath and silently reminded himself to have a long talk with Ruby about whatever she'd done to upset his wife so much. “It wasn't stolen, I lent it to Emma. Remember.”

“Why would you go and do a stupid thing like that?” Snow shouted as she spun in circles while struggling to get her arm through the sleeve of her inside-out coat.

“I-”

“This is your fault now too, you know that. You just let our baby girl drive away with that, that, woman and now they're all alone and _She's_ doing who knows what to _my_ Emma and we don't even have a car to go out there and get her.”

Snow stopped circling and eyed the seams holding the coat together before setting her gaze on the wooden block of knives sitting on her counter.

David to dash across the distance he'd kept between them. “They're camping, Snow.” He took the knife from his wife — not without resistance — then helped Snow into her coat after turning it rightside-out, all the while his True Love lived up to her frigid name.

“Hhoh-hoh. That's what _She_ wants us to think. I should have seen this coming. She's never forgiven me for Daniel and it was only a matter of time before she decided to take her revenge again." Snow ranted half under her breath as she zipped up her coat then scanned the open space of the loft for anything else she would need.

David surreptitiously stepped between her and the counter. “Snow...” 

“Where's Emma's car? We'll use that.” Snow made her way over to the front door.

“Snow.”

“Do you have the keys or did she leave them in the car?” She asked, patting her coat pockets as she checked the bowl Emma normally left the Bug's keys in.

“Snow!”

“What?” Snow spun around. “Our daughter is-”

“Camping.”

“Is she, David? Is she really or is she-” Snow clenched her jaw.

“Is she what? What do you think is going on out there. You were fine with this last night. We talked about this. What's changed since then that's got you so… crazy.”

“I'm not crazy. If anyone's crazy it's that lunatic wolf.”

_Ruby Yeah, he was definitely going to have to talk to her. Once he got Snow's side of it, that is. “What does she have to do with all of this?”_

Snow jaw clenched again. “I- I can't even bring myself to say it.”

David sucked in another breath, then pulled his official Deputy's notebook from his back pocket and held it out. “Then write it.”

* * *

“Focus.”

“I am focusing.” Emma growled. Magic shouldn't leave you with sore muscles but Emma's shoulders were already passed sore and heading for gonna-need-a-massage territory. On the upside she had managed to float the stone several times and for longer each time. Directional control was still something of an issue and one Regina was determined she'd learn before they called the lesson to a close.

“If you hit me in the head with that-” Regina warned as she stepped back to allow the rock to drift past her face rather than through it as she sent Emma a pointed look. “-I will not be held responsible for my actions.” She crossed the clearing to give Emma a little more room to maneuver. “Not by anyone other than your mother and that will make our post camping family dinner only slightly more painful than I already expect it to be.”

“If you don't want to go, why'd you say yes.” Emma asked, the edge to her voice born out of frustration with Regina and her own inability to steer the stone with anything approaching what could be called accuracy. Even if she wanted to hit Regina — which she might if the other woman insisted they keep at this for much longer — it would take a miracle or a stroke of luck to pull it off.

“It was the polite thing to do.”

“And you're so concerned with being polite.”

Regina didn't say anything, there was no sigh, no change in her breathing and Emma was too focused on the stone to see her, but she could sense the effect her words had on Regina.

“I-”

“Don't bother apologizing. The more you say it, the less it means.”

Yeah, she'd screwed up. Again.

“Besides, you need to focus on keeping that under control, not how to get your foot out of your mouth.”

Emma swallowed the by now habitual 'I am focused' and kept her eyes locked on the stone as she tried to push away everything but the feeling of her magic flowing down her arm as she directed it towards the rock.

“What the-”

“Emma!”

Emma's eyes snapped back to the stone in time to see it moving rapidly towards her own face, surprise more than intent cancelling the spell in time for it roll to a stop at her feet instead of knocking her unconscious.

“If that's what you consider focusing, We may have to move onto something softer.”

“I'm so-” Emma caught herself and cut off the apology. “I thought I saw something.” She pointed deeper into the woods and winced as pain stabbed through her shoulder. The fact that less magic made the pain worse was one more reason to a slowly growing list of why she was better off without it in her life.

Regina quirked an eyebrow before she turned to follow Emma's finger. “I don't see anything.”

“Yeah. I guess I imagined it.” Emma tried to rub her shoulder with the opposite hand but that only caused her other shoulder to sting in protest.

Regina turned back to Emma and, after a few seconds of watching her, gave her head a slow shake. “Then in that case, and to save my having to endure your mother's less than subtle disapproval over letting you brain yourself with a rock, we'll call this lesson to a close.” Regina started back towards their camp. “But we'll pick it up first thing tomorrow. Well, second. If you don't eat first you'll be no use to anyone.”

Emma opened her mouth to protest that last bit but didn't. Regina was right and they both knew it. Besides, she didn't want to risk Regina changing her mind. Her shoulders could definitely use a good nights rest. She might even hit the lake before bed. A quick soak in the cool waters would almost be as good as an ice-pack. They'd certainly helped with her other post magic lesson issue. Emma felt her cheeks start to warm at the memory and she ducked her head down to hide her cheeks. But blushing or magically induced arousal weren't her biggest concerns. Whatever she'd seen hadn't been her imagination. Emma tilted her head up and looked back to where she'd seen the flash of something moving through the undergrowth. Whatever it was, was gone. She just hoped it wasn't going to end up being trouble.

* * *

“Mom, Mum. How'd it go?” Henry asked a tad too much interest in his voice as he zipped the tent shut behind him.

The corner's of Regina's eyes crinkled in suspicion but before she could investigate, Emma spoke.

“Great.” The blonde flopped down into one of the folding chairs and immediately winced.

“Are you okay?”

“She's fine.” Regina shook her head. “We both are, if only by sheer luck.”

“What-”

“Your mum's just made that I kinda almost bumped a rock into her.”

“I believe 'brained me' is the more accurate term.”

“Mom!”

“It wasn't going that fast.” Emma defended her self. And even if it had been, I didn-OW!” Emma paused mid-turn in her chair and sucked in a sharp breath.

“Mom?” Henry asked as he knelt next to her chair., the concern in his voice left Emma both touched and a little guilty for making him worry.

“It's nothing, kid. Just a little stiff. Nothing a good massage won't fix.”

Henry gave a slow, small nod of his before he turned to Regina. “You can do that, right?”

“What?” Both mother's said together. Another wince crossed Emma's face as she jerked up in her seat.

“Mum can give you a massage.” Henry turned his eyes from Emma's slightly flushed face to Regina's harder to read expression. “Can't you?”

“I don't think your mum knows how to-”

“Do you now? And what do you base this expertise in my skill-sets on?”

Emma licked her teeth as she wondered how many more times she could fit her foot in her mouth before it got stuck. She turned in her seat again — this time more slowly — until she could lock eyes with Regina, ready to apologize again in spite of Regina's comments to the contrary.

It was the raised eyebrow that did it. That eyebrow that quietly dared Emma to challenge the older woman. And it wasn't like Regina hadn't earned a little payback between the magical misfire at the lake and failing to give Emma a heads up on how much of a physical toll magic could take on her.

“You know what, you're right.” Emma grinned, her smile growing even wider at the flicker of surprise that she saw pass over Regina's face. “I've seen you work your fingers often enough to know you know how to use them so if your _skill set_ includes massage then by all means, your Majesty-” Emma turned her back to Regina and leaned forward. “-dig in.”

There was nothing from behind her for several seconds and Emma was starting to wonder if she'd pushed back a little too hard when Regina broke the silence that hung over their campsite.

“And just what do I get in return?”

Her smile regained the ground it lost. “A fully functional student, for one.” Emma replied.

“And...?”

“And...” Emma lifted her head up and caught sight of Henry watching their interplay with the same intensity that normally occupied his face when he was planning one of his operations.

_Huh._

“I'm waiting, Dear.”

“And I'll give you one in return.”

“And risk you damaging my muscles? I think not Miss Swan.”

“Emma.” Emma corrected, wincing again as she turned in her seat for a third time. “And you're not the only one with secret skills, ya know.”

The two women regarded each other for several moments.

“Very well. But I'll need some supplies.” Regina lifted her hand.

“Uh-Uh. No magic out side of lessons, remember?”

Regina's shoulders fell. “Really? You'd rather abide by the terms of that silly bet and sit there in pain rather then allow me to use a little magic to summon something to help your recovery.”

“Yes.”

Regina dropped her hand. “Idiot.”

“Maybe. But I'm an idiot that's sticking to our agreement and so are you. Between your list and shopping with Snow, anything you need is our first aid kit so just walk over to the tent and get it like a normal person.”

“I'm many things,” Regina shook her head, “but normal isn't one of them. Extraordinary, yes but not normal.” She started towards the tent but before she could take more than three steps, Henry was blocking her way.

“It's not in there.”

“What? Why not?” Regina asked.

“Because I... took it back to the truck with me the last time I went to get the phone charged.”

Regina crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at her son. “What do you mean 'the last time'? I thought I made it clear after the first that you weren't to go back to the truck without one of us with you.”

“Yeah, right... that's what I meant. I mean, when I meant.”

“Henry-”

“Just walk to the truck then. It's not going to kill you.”

Regina turned towards Emma but before she could get a word out, Emma added, “And take the kid with you.”

Emma locked eyes with their son. “You can make sure she doesn't try to use any magic.”

“I can hear you.”

“I know.”

“I'll have you know I'm a woman of my word; even when I was evil.”

“I know.”

Regina stared at the back of Emma's head before grabbing Henry's hand. “Come along. We can discuss your 'phone charging' on the way.”

Emma watched the two walk off in the direction of the truck and knew she was going to pay for that eventually — even is she gave Regina a really good massage — but she couldn't help herself. It was that damned eyebrow.

“Pssst.”

Emma's forehead wrinkled.

“Over here.”

Emma turned towards the voice.

“Ruby?”

Ruby's face poked out from behind a tree on the far side of their campsite. “We need to talk.”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“That's what we need to talk about.”

Emma's eyes dropped from Ruby's when a bare shoulder poked into view from behind the tree as well. “Are you...” She shot a quick glance in the direction Henry and Regina had gone then turned back to her friend and lowered her voice into a half whisper, half hiss. “Are you naked?”

“A little.”

“A lit-OW.”

“Shhh!”

“Don't Shhh me. What the hell are you doing here and why are you naked?”

“Can we talk about this after I get some clothes on? Preferably before Regina gets back.”

Emma rubbed one of her shoulders. “And what am I supposed to do, magic you up something to wear. Regina hasn't taught me that trick yet.”

“I bet." Ruby said under her breath but not far enough under according to the look Emma gave her. Ruby didn't give Emma time to confirm that verbally. "We're almost the same size, grab me something from your bag." Ruby peeked out a little more from behind her tree, for enough to confirm that she was more than a little naked. "And before Regina gets back unless you want to explain to her why your very naked B F F is standing in the middle of the woods.”

“I'd have to know why first.”

“Ems.”

“Fine.” Emma snapped, biting back a whimper as she pushed herself out of the chair. “But you better have a damn good explanation for this.” She swallowed another whimper as she struggled with the zipper on the tent and let out an "Ow" as she crawled inside to grab her bag, her weight half supported on her arms.

“Stupid Ruby.” She grumbled under her breath, not even caring if the other woman could hear her as she pulled her bag close and started to dig through it for something to wear.

_Oooh... yeah... that. That would be perfect._

Emma crawled back, her sore shoulders temporarily forgotten thanks to the outfit clutched tight in one hand. “Here.” She thrust the matching halves towards Ruby's hiding spot, a sinister smile on her face.

“Seriously?” Ruby asked dryly. “I get that you're pissed I swapped out your boring old bathing suit but you really think Regina will-”

“Tick-Tock, tick-tock.”

“Fine. Fine. Whatever. But if I she kills me over this, I'm coming back to haunt you.” An upset — and very naked — Ruby stepped out from behind the tree and crossed the clearing with an inhuman speed before she snatched the barely there bikini from Emma's hands.

A now very awkward Emma who was trying her best to look anywhere but at Ruby.

“If you didn't want the show, you should have given me something more, well, more.” Ruby pointed out as she tied the thing string behind her neck. "Besides, it's not like this is the first time you've seen me naked."

“You walking in on me in the shower doesn't count." Emma snapped. "Just tell me why you're here.”

“Yea. About that-” Ruby, turned her back to Emma. “I kinda, maybe may have done something a little... silly.”

Emma froze. “What did you-” Her voice cut out as she turned to face Ruby only to get an unimpeded eyeful of her friend's taut posterior. She whipped her head around. “I- uh... I think I hear them coming back.”

It was Ruby's turn to freeze for several moments. “No, I don't hear them." She relaxed as she turned to face Emma. “But I really need to tell you this only you have to promise not to be mad... or, at least not to kill me.”

Emma's face hardened as she turned back to Ruby. “What did you do?”

“You got to prom-”

“Ruby. Right. Now.”

Ruby glanced over at the path Regina and Henry were due back on any minute then looked back at Emma. “I may have told your mom that you and Regina are true-love and she kinda threatened to turn me into a coat.”

Ruby was just about to peek out from the cringe she'd taken during her confession when Emma spoke.

More bellowed.

Shouted even.

“YOU WHAT!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 02 07 2016 (2nd, July)
> 
> Yes, I know I said in a previous update that I was thinking of making Friday the official update day (though I think that was an update for a different story) but it turned out that this Friday past was, in point of fact, Canada Day and I, being Canadian, was not so much on the computer so for anyone wondering what the heck happened, that's what.
> 
> Also, I'm not entirely happy with some of the phrasing in this chapter so I may come back to tweak it later but plot wise I don't think anything will change.


	17. Somethings Are Better Left (Un)Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow gets a not-so-stern talking to.
> 
> Ruby is not so lucky.

David flipped back a few pages in his notebook then turned back to the last as he sucked a breath between his teeth.

That explained it. But at twenty-four pages he'd be surprised if it didn't. Admittedly a good chunk of that was crossed out — sometimes emphatically enough to tear through the page — and after the first half dozen or so the general theme pretty much repeated itself but at least now he had some idea why Snow was so upset and why Ruby had torn out of their apartment like a bat out of hell.

Or a wolf.

“Well?”

David looked up from his notebook, the soft *pap* of the leather cover closing faded into the space between them.

“David.”

“It's-”

“Disturbing, right? And wrong? And we need to get Emma and bring her home right now.”

“Well-”

“David!”

He held his hands up in front of his chest. “Look, I'm not saying I like the idea anymore than you do...”

Snow's eyes narrowed. “Why am I sensing a 'but', David? You can't possibly think that this is a good idea or that it wouldn't end in disaster even if it was true.”

David sucked in another breath, mouth open to reply, then shrugged.

“ _David!_.”

“I don't know what you want me to say, Snow.”

“I don't want you to say anything. I want you to get our daughter back!”

“And then what?”

It was Snow's turn to shrug. “That's not important. We need to bring Emma home and-”

“And what, Snow? Because we may not have been there to see her grow up-”

“And who's fault is that!” Snow interrupted as she folded her arms across her chest.

“-But I've known her long enough to know we can't tell her what to do.” David continued, ignoring both the interruption and Snow's glare.

“We can't just-”

“Yes, we can, Snow. We have to.”

“But-”

“No. No buts, Snow. You know I'm right. If we drag Emma back here it's only going to push her away. Besides, if Ruby's wrong and there's nothing going on between them than this only puts the idea in their heads and then what? Henry get's stuck in the middle of all the awkwardness that's going to follow? You really want to do that to our grandson?”

Snow looked down at the counter, the sound of her shoe scuffing against the floor barely audible. “No, of course not. But-”

“And if it's true-”

Snow's head snapped up. “Don't even say that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it's wrong.”

“Why?”

“David!” 

“No, seriously, Snow. Tell me why it's wrong because I know it's not the idea that our daughter might be in love with another woman.”

“Not that woman.”

“So it's Regina then?”

“Of course it's Regina.” Snow threw her hands up into the air.

“And if Regina is Emma's True Love?”

“She's not!”

“Why not.”

“Because... because it's Regina.”

“And Regina can't have True Love.”

“That's not what I said.” Snow slapped her hands onto the counter. “If Regina has a True Love out there I would be the first to congratulate her on finding it-”

“Just so long as it's not our daughter?”

“Exactly!”

“So you don't want our Daughter to find True Love.”

“That's not- Stop twisting everything I say. You know I want our daughter to find the same love we have but-”

“Not with Regina.”

“Yes!”

“Why not?”

Snow stared at her husband for a few seconds before she spun around and headed for the front door.

“Snow?”

“I'm going for a walk!” Snow snapped as she flung the door open, pausing only long enough to look back of her shoulder to add “And don't follow me!” before she slammed it shut.

* * *

They were halfway back to the truck, far enough for Regina to feel certain Emma wouldn't overhear their conversation; a fact she hoped would make it easier to get their son to open up about whatever he had been trying to hide from them. “Henry-”

“So Mum's doing pretty good with her lessons?”

Regina licked her teeth. Alright, if that's how he wanted to play this.

“She's not doing as poorly as I thought she would.”

“Mom.” Henry looked over at her, his expression told her that he could see through her attempt to downplay how impressed she was with Emma.

“She did nearly hit me with a rock, Henry.” Regina pointed out, unwilling to give up the facade just yet.

“Whatever. I know you like her.”

Regina nearly stumbled and Henry gave her a raised eyebrow before the other one joined it a moment before his head whipped around.

“I mean, you know... as a friend.”

She swallowed. So much had happened since that morning that she'd almost forgotten about waking up in Emma's arms. Had Henry seen them after all? Did he think that she and Emma were... that they might have _feelings_ for each other.

Preposterous.

Obviously they had some feelings for each other, they shared a son and their lives were inexorably entwined not only through him but their past and her past with Emma's parents. And yes, those feelings had changed since Emma had arrived in Storybrooke but not that much.

Not that it would matter if hers had changed _that_ much. Emma wouldn't return her feelings. She couldn't. She was the saviour and Regina was the Evil Queen. That sort of thing didn't happen. Not even in storybooks. Emma may have forgiven her enough that they could be friends but friends was all they would ever be.

Even if Regina felt _that_ way for Emma.

Which she didn't.

“Mom?”

“Hmm?” Regina turned her head to find Henry watching her with a mix of concern and apprehension.

“Henry-”

“YOU WHAT?”

Henry and Regina both spun around towards the campsite.

Henry stared at Regina as she ran back to their campsite.

“Hey, wait up.”

* * *

“Your Majesty.”

Snow looked up from the ground. “Archie.” Her gaze drifted to the side. “Pongo.”

Dog and therapist both tilted their heads to the side. “If you don't mind me saying so, you look like you've got something on your mind.” Archie said, a quick glance around followed by a wave of his hand towards a near-by bench. “If you'd like to talk...”

Snow shook her head. “No.”

Archie counted in his head. _One, two, thr-_

“Maybe...”

Archie gave Snow a comforting smile before he headed over to the bench. Pongo resisted for a moment, long enough for Snow to start to follow them. The Dalmatian waited for Snow to settle onto the bench before he sat on the ground between them.

“So...” Archie said as he gave Pongo a scratch behind the ears.

Snow said nothing until Pongo rested his head on her leg. A small smile broke across her lips before a sigh slipped free. “I...” She reached down to take up the scratching Archie had started and her smile grew a little when Pongo's tongue lolled out one side of his mouth. “I have this friend-” She glanced up at Archie for a few seconds before turning her attention back to his dog. “-This friend, she has this idea that this other friend of mine, a very close friend, might be in... in love with this other friend-” Snow stopped herself again as she considered her choice of words. Of all the things Regina had been to her over the years, it had been a long time since she'd thought of her as a friend. As anything more than a threat, really. And yet her she was about to talk to Archie — about the only person in town she could trust would be neutral about all this _and_ keep everything she was about to say a secret — about Regina being Emma's True Love after railing at David about Regina being unworthy of their daughter and yet she hadn't even hesitated to call Regina her friend.

“Snow?”

“Sorry.” Snow looked up to find Archie passively watching her with that hint of caring that never seemed to leave his face. “My friend-”

“The first , second, or third one?”

“First, sorry. My first friend...” Snow paused. Just because she could trust Archie not to tell anyone what she said didn't mean she was ready to name names. Not real ones anyway. She grabbed the first name that popped into her head and continued. “...Scarlet-” Snow winced but Archie showed no sign of seeing through her ruse. “Anyway Scarlet told me that she thinks that my close friend... Eve-” Still nothing. “-might be in love-” Snow swallowed. “-True Love with my other friend... Rex.”

“I see.” Archie nodded. “And you don't think that Scarlet is right?”

“Yes. No.” Snow looked down at Pongo — who'd rolled his head to the side to guide her fingers behind his other ear — and thought back over all the times she'd seen Emma and Regina together, every time they'd fought or teamed up. The way Emma had always been the first to stand up for Regina, the first to trust her once she'd learned the truth about the curse. Once she'd seen Regina not as some sinister small town mayor, but as the woman who had once been the Evil Queen. “I- I think she might be right.”

“And you don't think that this Rex is a good match for your friend Eve?”

“No. Maybe. She...” Snow looked back up. “I mean Rex, _he's_ done some things, terrible things, in the past. Hurt a lot of people, myself include. Even E- Eve. And Eve is... She's...”

“Important to you?”

“Very.”

“And you don't want to see her get hurt?”

“No, I don't.”

Archie nodded again. “Do you think Rex plans to hurt Eve?”

Snow stared down at Pongo for several moments before she shook her head. “I don't know. I don't think she'd do anything on purpose but there's so much darkness in her past I'm worried she won't be able to keep it away.”

“From Eve? Or from Rex?”

“Both.”

Archie let the answer hang in the air for a few seconds before he spoke. “Do you think Rex loves Eve back?”

Snow slipped back into her memories, recalling all the times Emma had been the only one that could talk Regina back from her darker impulses, all the times she'd caught Regina looking at her daughter like Emma was something she couldn't believe she was allowed to have in her life. The way she trusted Emma, even when they disagreed. Of how the only people she let close were Emma and Henry, physically and emotionally.

“... Yes I do.”

Archie took a slow, deep breath. “Do you think it's True Love?”

Snow looked up. She stood up. “Thank you Archie.”

“My pleasure, your Majesty.” He gave her a nod in parting that she didn't see, already turned and headed back towards her apartment.

“What do you think, Pongo?” He asked his pet as he gave the dog a thorough scratching with both hands. “Should we track down Ruby and make sure she's still in one piece, or clear some room in our schedule for some family counselling?”

Pongo let out two loud barks.

“Yeah, me too. We can move Jefferson to Wednesday, that'll give us all of Friday afternoon free.”

Another bark.

“Agreed.” Archie looked at Snow's retreating back before it disappeared around a corner. “Bout time she figured it out. Even if she did have some help. Now the question is how long until Emma and Regina make the same breakthrough?”

* * *

“YOU WHAT?”

Ruby, eyes snapped wide, looked off to the side. “Shhh. You trying to get me killed.”

“No, I want that pleasure all to myself.” 

Ruby turned back to Emma and found herself wishing she'd stayed at Snow's. At least there it would be harder to hide her body than here in the middle of the woods. “Ems-”

“Don't 'Ems' me. What the hell were you thinking?”

Ruby moved to put the campfire between herself and Emma as the other woman started to close the distance between them. “I-” She went silent, her head twisting to the side when the growing sound of twigs breaking under foot reached her ears.

_Shit!_

“Em, I gotta-” She started to say only to find Emma had taken advantage of her momentary distraction and was now standing only a few inches away. She jumped back but Emma was faster, her hand locked around Ruby's wrist before Ruby's feet met the ground.

“Emma! Are you-” The expression on Regina's face turned hard and cold as she came to an abrupt stop. “Miss Lucas, what are you doing here?” Regina's eyes dipped as she took in the unwelcome visitor before narrowing. “And what are you wearing?”

“Emma gave it to me.”

Regina's eyes narrowed even more as she turned them on Emma. “Did she.”

Emma yanked her hand away from Ruby's arm. “No. Okay, yes but not because- She- My bathing suit-”

“Moms?” Henry came to a stop a few feet behind Regina, his expression going from confused concern to equally confused — and wolfish — curiosity. “Ruby?”

“Gina.” Emma positioned herself in front of Ruby and Regina was quick to do the same to Henry.

“In the tent.”

“But-”

“Now.” If Regina's hold on Henry's shoulders didn't make it clear that she wasn't open to negotiations, her tone certainly did and Henry silently shuffled over to the tent with Regina maintaining her role as screen until she heard the zipper pulled open then closed again.

“Regina-”

“Truck. Both of you. Now.” Regina growled under her breath before she turned toward the tent to add, “And you stay right there.” Without waiting for Henry to reply, Regina set off for the truck but not before a snap from her fingers wrapped Ruby in a dark purple cloud that left the waitress draped from neck to ankle in a baggy, dull grey shift.

“There goes my massage.” Emma mumbled.

Ruby realized her “Really?” was far too enthusiastic — and just how much Emma took after Snow — when Emma gave her an _I'm-gonna-hit-you-with-a-rock_ glare before she headed off after Regina.

_Double Shit!_

“Ruby?”

Henry's whisper was a little louder than Ruby felt comfortable with but when Emma didn't turn back she took a step towards the tent. “Yeah kid?”

“Why _are_ you here.”

Ruby shot another glance in the direction Emma and Regina had headed. “Trust me, You'll hear all about it soon enough.” With a sigh, she headed off towards the truck and what she hoped would be a painless death.

Though she doubted it.

* * *

“Hey.”

A cautiously hopeful smile tugged at David's mouth as he took in a seemingly calmer Snow. “Hey.”

Snow closed the door behind her then chewed on her lip for a moment. “Before we talk, I need to know one thing.”

David 's smile dimmed as he straightened up from his spot bent over the counter. He nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Did you know.? I mean, did you already think what Ruby thinks?”

“No.”

“But you were so calm about it and everything you said...” Snow trailed off as she wrapped her arms around herself as she looked down at the floor.

“Snow-” David was already around the other side of the counter by the time he spoke, his arms quick to join Snow's in embracing his bride. “-I swear to you, I never thought about it.”

“Then why-” Snow looked up at him, her eyes both pleading and guilty.

“I don't know.” David shrugged as he pulled a hand away from Snow's back to wipe away the unshed tears brimming in Snow's eyes. “I guess when I figured out what Ruby had said to upset you so much it just... it made sense.”

“And I didn't.”

“That's not what I said. I-”

“No, David. I'm not accusing you, I'm stating a fact. If it was anyone other than Regina, hell if Ruby had come over her to tell me that she was in love with Emma I would have been half way through planning the wedding by the time you got home because you're right, the important thing isn't who our daughter loves it that she's found someone to love, someone who loves her back.”

David, unwilling to say anything that might undo his wife's change of heart, gave a small nod as he slipped his arm back around her waist.

“I just... She and I have such a complicated history, all the things she's done to hurt us, my father, hunting me for all those years, the war, the curse, she's taken so much from us and the worst thing is... I never gave up on her. I've always held onto this little bit of hope that she could find her way back to the woman that saved me, the woman she was when I first met her. Someone who could love and be loved...” Snow rested her cheek against David's chest. “And I know I hurt her too. I can say I was only ten all I want but that doesn't change the fact that I was the one who broke her trust. I was the one who took Daniel from her.”

“No, Snow. That was Cora.”

“Was it?” Snow pulled her head back to look her husband in the eye. “If I hadn't told her Regina's secret-”

“Then Cora would have hunted them both down the moment she realized they were gone.”

“It doesn't change what I did.”

“And blaming yourself doesn't change what Regina did.”

“Then how can I be okay with her and Emma being together like that.”

“Because Regina has changed. She's not the woman you first met but she's not the woman that cast the curse either. That woman died the day Henry came into her life... it just took breaking the curse for any of us to notice it.”

A slightly bitter laugh slipped free as Snow placed her head on David's chest again. “That's because we didn't know who we were for thirty years.”

A bitter free chuckle escaped David. He tightened his arms around Snow and kissed the top of her head. “And now we do. And so does Emma. She knows Regina's past, she knows that Regina is why she grew up without us... if she can see past all that to love her...”

“... Why can't we?” Snow asked.

“Something like that.”

“I hate when you're reasonable.”

Another laugh left David's throat. “It comes from being a Shepard. You spend your whole day trying to get a bunch of sheep to go where you want to and you learn the value of patience. And once you've mastered that, reasonable isn't so hard.”

Snow mumbled something indecipherable into David's chest.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Snow took a deep breath before she tilted her head back, chin still touching David. “I said 'she better not call me mom'.”

David bite down on his tongue to keep himself from laughing.

Snow's eyes narrowed. “It's not funny.”

“It's also not something I think we need to worry about.”

“She'd do it just to spite me.”

“Maybe. But if she does, she'll have Emma to answer to.”

A grin slowly spread across Snow's face.

“But the same goes for you- Us, Snow. If Regina really is Emma's True Love, or even just _a_ love, Emma's going to be just as protective of her.”

A “Hrmph.” was Snow's only response as she rolled her head to the side.

“And the same goes for Regina. Anyone tries to hurt Emma, she's going to be the first to go after them.”

“Second.” Snow corrected. Correcting herself with, “Third.” A moment later.

“Third?”

“Me first, you second, her third.”

“Okay.” David nodded. “What about Henry.”

“Me first, you second, Henry third, and her fourth.”

“You know you can say her name, right?”

“I'm working up to it.”

David let out another chuckle. “If it helps any, you can always tell yourself that at least Rumple’s not part of the family.”

Snow shuddered. “Don't even joke about that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Published: 17 07 2016 (17th, July)**
> 
>  
> 
> Apologies for the wait. This was ready Friday but I wasn't sure if I should end it where I did or shift the last scene to the next chapter (technically last two as the chapter was planned but the show-down between Regina, Emma, and Ruby that isn't here got moved to the next chapter [sorry] so it was just the Snow/David scene that I was undecided about). 
> 
> Anyway, I can't remember if I mentioned it here already (and I'm too lazy to go back and check though I know I mentioned it on my tumblr [blatant plug is blatant]) so in case I didn't or in case you missed it: I'm going to focus on finishing off this story before I update any of my others. As planned out, that should be another 2,3 chapters but I wouldn't be surprised if that number shifts a bit between now and *complete* status. 
> 
> On a side note, the bit at the end where David mentions Rumple was originally going to be about Neal (how having Henry's dad be the son of the dark one didn't make Regina seem like that bad an option) when I remembered that no-one but Emma knows about Neal at this point and even she doesn't know about the Rumple connection (sequel perhaps?) 
> 
> Also, I came across a fic I forgot I'd started (I think it was meant for Swan Queen week on tumblr but I'm not sure which one as I've missed a few) so... yeah. That might get a quick polish and post once this is done and may (read: probably) end up another multi-chapter story.
> 
> Anyway, that's all for now. If you notice any typos, errors, etc, please let me know and if you have anything to say in general, again, let me know. 
> 
> Till next week, folks. Enjoy.


	18. An Evil Queen, A Werewolf, and a Saviour Walk Into The Woods...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow works on accepting Regina as Emma's True Love while David does what he can to help. Archie asks for Ruby's number while Granny handles the dinner rush alone. Things blow up between Emma and Ruby then blow up again, literally, between Emma and Regina. Henry does a naughty thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 26 08 2016 (26th, August)  
> — After far longer than it should have taken and more drafts, redrafts, re-writes, etc than I can, or want to count, here it is folks. (fingers crossed) Enjoy.

*Ding-a-ding-a-ding*

Granny poked her head through the passthrough and treated the latest arrival at the diner to a scowl before she disappeared from view only to reappear a few seconds later when she stepped out of the kitchen and took up a spot behind the counter. 

“Granny.” Archie said, a hint of question to his voice.

“What do you want?” Granny pulled a pen from behind her ear and held the tip over the order pad in her other hand. 

Archie glanced down at Pongo as he reconsidered the reason he'd come to the diner; Granny was known to be gruff but even for her, she was a little more brusque then normal. 

“I don't have all day, you know.”

Okay, so a lot more than usual. “Actually,” Archie looked back up at Granny, “I, uhm, I was wondering if I could talk to Ruby.”

Granny scoffed as she shoved the order pad back into her apron pocket and tucked the pen back behind her ear, an eye-roll added almost as an afterthought. “You'll have to find her first. She 's late for her shift and left me to handle the dinner rush all by my myself.”

 _Ahh. Well that explained things_.

“That girl better not be...” Granny grumbled under her breath as she turned to head back into the kitchen.

“Oh dear.” Archie muttered under his.

* * *

They'd spent the last several minutes cuddling on the couch, long enough for David to feel it was safe to ask his wife how she was feeling. “Better?”

Snow took a deep breath and held it for several seconds before letting it slowly leak out as she pulled David's arm around her shoulder; and entwined their fingers. “Ask me tomorrow.”

David tucked his face into Snow's hair to kiss the top of her head and lingered long enough to inhale the scent of her hair. “Will do.”

A short laugh left Snow before she shook her head as she pushed herself up to look David in the eye. “How are we going to do this?”

“Together.”

“No.” Snow shook he head again then leaned in to press a quick kiss on David's lips. “I mean, thank you, that's very sweet and all but...” she dropped her head back to his shoulder and sighed. “I meant practically. How do we get through dinner tomorrow? Do we mention any of this to Emma? Do we wait to see if Emma comes to us about it? And if we wait for Emma to come to us, how do we let her know she can without letting her know we know, you know?”

David tilted his head to the side. “-”

“And what about Regina? What if she's the one keeping Emma from coming to us about this? Do we talk to Regina first or would Emma see that as us going behind her back? Or what if Regina tells us and Emma's not ready for us to know? Who's side do we take because if they are really meant to be together than we should support them but if Emma's not ready then we should support her but would Regina see that as us rejecting her? Would Emma? How can we-”

“Snow.”

Snow sighed. “I'm over thinking it aren't I?”

“A little.”

Snow let out another sigh. “Maybe we should call her?” She pushed herself up again.

“Snow.”

“Just to confirm they're still coming to dinner.” Snow explained as she got to her feet to grab her phone.

“ _Snow_.”

“Maybe see how they're getting along.”

“Sno-”

*Knock-knock-knock-knock*

Snow and David both turned towards the door then at each other. David shrugged.

“Ruby?”

Snow looked back at the door, her expression a mix of regret and apprehension. “I should...”

*Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock*

“I'll get it.” David started to push himself off the couch.

“No. I need to do this.” Snow waved him off as she made her way to the door. She drew in another breath, held it, then opened the door.

“Rub- ... Archie?”

“Hi.” Archie gave Snow a timid smile. “I, uh, I don't suppose you have Ruby's phone number, do you?

Snow sighed as she turned around and resumed her journey towards her phone. “What did she do now?”

* * *

It took Ruby longer to catch up to Emma than it should have — the cloth sack Regina had dressed her in as cumbersome as it was unflattering even with the hem pulled up to her knees — and that was with Emma walking at a pace only slightly faster than someone heading for the gallows. 

_Shit!_

“Ems-”

“I'm not talking to you.”

Ruby dropped her handfuls of fabric as she fell into step slightly behind her only-slightly-less-welcoming-than-talkative friend.

“S'cool. I get it.”

“Do you?” Emma asked bitterly, eyes locked on the path ahead of her. “Because you're still talking.”

“I do.” Ruby dropped her own gaze to the ground. “I screwed up pretty big.”

“Ya think?” Emma asked, her voice drenched in sarcasm as she came to an abrupt stop and spun around to face Ruby. Too abrupt for Ruby to stop herself before she collided with the angry Saviour.

“Sorry.” Ruby mumbled as she tried to keep herself upright in the constricting confines of her dress, only realizing that she’d been holding onto Emma’s arm instinctively when she looked up to find Emma pointedly looking down at her hand.

“Sorry.” She pulled her hand away.

“Stop saying that.”

“Sor-” Ruby pulled her lips over her teeth as she cut herself off.

Emma sighed, shook her head, and turned away.

_…Shit…_

Emma turned around again. “Why would you- What would make you- What the hell were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t.” Ruby replied automatically. “I mean, I was but-”

“But what?” Emma crossed her arms over her chest.

“I…” Ruby looked down at the ground to avoid the glare aimed at her. “Ems-”

“Don’t ‘Ems’ me!”

“Right, So-“ Ruby sucked in a quick breath. “Emma…” When the other woman didn’t object or cut her off again, Ruby let out a small sigh. “I know I’m in your doghouse right now, no pun intended.” The small smile that flickered on her lips faded when she looked up to find Emma still glaring at her.

“Right… Ems-ssa. Emma, I fucked up. I know it, you know it. I crossed a line I shouldn’t have and I completely get why you’re pissed at me. I could say I only did it ‘cause I thought it would help-” She saw Emma’s face harden as the blonde opened her mouth and quickly added, “-but I won’t. I’m not going to even try to give you an excuse because what I did was inexcusable and if you never want to talk to me again, I get it. I do. Doesn’t mean I won’t try to earn your forgiveness or to earn back your trust if you give me the chance to but I get it and if you never want to see my face again…” Ruby dropped her eyes to the ground once more. “… You won’t. But either way, this is my fuck up and I should be the only one to pay for it so let me pay for it. Let me talk to Regina-“

“Yeah, right. So you can tell her what, exactly? That I’m-” Emma glanced around them before dropping her voice to a low hiss. “That I’m in love with her?”

“No.” Ruby didn’t look up as she shook her head. “I’ll tell her the truth. That you had nothing to do with me being here, that I showed up out of the blue and you didn’t do anything wrong and this whole thing is my fault.”

Silence hung over ruby for several seconds before she heard Emma draw in a breath. Several more seconds past in silence before Emma spoke. 

“And then what? Lets say she buys that, what about Snow? Or David? What are you going to tell them?”

Ruby licked her lips. “I- I’ll think of something.”

A short, sharp laugh burst from Emma’s throat. “Seriously?”

Ruby stopped herself from shrugging before she tilted her head up enough to look Emma in the eye. “My fuck up, I’ll fix it.”

“But it’s not just your fuck up, Ruby. It’s my life. My family. Do you have any idea how much shit we’re still dealing with without this, this… _this_ on top of it-“

Ruby’s head snapped back. As the best friend to mother and daughter both, no-one knew better how much emotional baggage Snow and Emma had been struggling with since the curse broke. How many nights had she spent with one or the other while they poured out all their fears and worries and hopes to her instead of to each other like they should have. Like Emma and Regina needed to.

“You know I do, Emma.”

“So why? Why would you do this to me.”

“Because you love her.”

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear those words out of your mouth every again.”

“But-“

“No.”

Ruby’s shoulders sagged. There was no coming back from this. Not only had she fucked up her two closest friendships but she’d driven Emma so far in the opposite direction that she’d never admit how she felt for Regina. Not even to herself. Granny was right, she should have stayed out of it.

“Okay,” Ruby said in a voice muted by defeat, “I won’t. But please, Emma, let me do this. If it’s the last thing I ever get to do for you, let me throw myself on this sword. God knows I deserve it. Let me take the hit with Regina, all of it, and with your parents too.”

Again, silence filled each passing second with its leaden weight until Emma spoke.

“Whatever.”

* * *

“No answer.” Snow hung up on her third attempt to call Ruby's cell.

“Maybe she just has it off?” David suggested but they could all hear how little he believed it himself.

*I'm bringing sexy back*

Archie, Snow, and David all looked at the phone in Snow's hand. Snow looked up, the slight blush on her cheeks appearing several shades stronger on her pale skin. “I didn't-”

*I'm bringing sexy back*

Snow's eyes dropped to her cell. “It's Ruby.”

“Well answer it.”

Snow shot David a look. “Don't tell me what to do.” She said before she stabbed the call button on the phone and brought it to her ear. “Ruby? ... Oh... What? You found it where? ... With what? ... I- No. Just stay there. We're on our way.” She hung up the phone and looked over at Archie and David, both of whom were leaning towards her expectantly. “That was Grumpy.” She said. “He was on patrol and he heard Ruby's phone ringing, tracked it to an alley and...”

“...And?” David asked.

“And found it in a pile of her clothes.” Snow looked down at her phone again.

“Her clothes?” Confusion painted David's face before peeling away to reveal a knowing, and worried, expression. “She wouldn't?”

“She would.” Snow confirmed.

“But-”

“It's my fault. I overreacted. She knew I was going to go after Emma so she went after her first.”

“But,” Archie looked between the royal couple, “Regina's there... and so is Henry.”

“Oh god. Henry.” Snow's head snapped up. “Regina really will kill her if Henry sees her like that.”

“I'll drive.” David grabbed Snow's discarded coat and threw it to his wife.

“We don't have the truck.” Snow pointed out as she pulled on her coat.

David pulled a set of keys from his pocket “Emma's car is at the station.”

“You had the keys the whole time?” Snow scolded her husband.

“Later, sweetheart. Lets go save your best friend from certain death.”

“No.”

David froze in the middle of pulling on his own coat and turned to face Snow. “What?”

“I said no. You go get Emma's car, I'll get Ruby's cloths from Grumpy and then you can come back and get me.”

“Right.” David gave a slow nod before he finished pulling on his coat. Snow already urging him towards the door with one hand on his back. He noticed the other was scrolling through the saved numbers on her phone. “Who are you-”

“Emma.” Snow gave David a final push out the front door before following behind him a half-step later. “Just in case Ruby hasn't gotten there yet.”

The door closed behind them.

“I, uh.” Archie looked around the loft before settling his eyes on Pongo. “I guess we should go?”

“Woof.”

* * *

“And here I was starting to suspect you two had gone off for a little tryst.”

“What?” Emma fired a glare at Ruby before she turned back to Regina. “We’re not-”

Ruby stepped forward as she cut off Emma. “Regina, it’s not what you think. I can explain everyth-“

A swirling cloud of purple smoke swallowed Ruby, revealing nothing but empty space where the werewolf had been standing when it cleared.

“Regina!”

“Relax, Miss Swan, your girlfriend is safe and sound. You can pick up your foreplay once you return to town.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.” Emma snapped back, then blinked as her glare turned to confusion. “What do you mean ‘when I go back’?”

“Surely you don’t think we’ll be completing this little charade of yours after this?” Regina pushed herself away from the truck, arms folded across her chest as she started to circle around Emma. “It’s not like you ever wanted to go camping after all. We both know it was the best your limited imagination could come up with once I interrupted you and Miss Lucas discussing the finer points of my undergarments.” A sneer pulled at Regina’s lips as she came to a stop standing between Emma and the path back to their camp. “But don’t worry, I have no intention of revealing that particular detail to _my_ son.”

“Our son.” Emma corrected her.

“Oh really? You really want to assert your parental claim after your bring that naked trollop into our camp for Henry to find.”

“I didn’t bring her.” Emma growled as she closed the distance between her and Regina. “I’m every bit as pissed at her as you are, _your Majesty_ , something she could have told you if you didn’t send her away like some petulant child who didn’t get her way.”

Regina closed the distance further, her hands dropping to her sides as she leaned in. “Let me assure you, Miss Swan, that neither she, nor you, have anything to do with me getting ‘my way’!”

“Only because you use magic to get your way.”

“At least I can control mine, unlike someone I could mention who is apparently so desperate to get her _way_ after a day without her girlfriend that she turns a simple spell into an erotic experience!”

“She! Is not! MY GIRLFRIEND!”

Both woman jerked away from each other as a series of rapid explosions rocked the air, the concussion shaking the earth beneath their feet.

“What the-” Emma cried, barely hearing herself over the ringing in her ears but that didn't stop her from snapping her arms out to shield Regina as the both of them turned towards the source only to find the truck sitting several inches lower than it had been a moment ago; all four tires nothing more than shredded rubber and wire.

Her jaw hanging opened seemed to help ease the ringing. She could hear herself by the time she asked, “Did I…” as she took a small step towards the truck before taking a larger one back. “Was that me?”

Assuming Regina could hear her, whatever snide reply she had on the tip of her tongue was interrupted before she could get it out.

* _Some day my prince will come_ *

Emma was already reaching for her phone when she heard Regina’s scoffing huff behind her. Guess that answered the question of how much Regina could hear.

“Don't look me, I didn’t set it.” Emma didn’t bother checking the called ID in her rush to accept the call before the ringtone had a chance to go off again. She did, however, add 'messing with her phone' to the growing list of Ruby’s crimes as brought the cell to her ear.

“What? ... Yeah, now's not a great time ... Ruby?” Emma glanced over her shoulder to see a smirking Regina watching her. “Yeah, she showed up …” Emma turned away again and focused on the blown out tires. “Yeah she did. About that- ... You what? ... Oh ... uh, I'm gonna have to call you back.” Emma hung up the phone but not before the woman standing behind her heard Snow’s dissent.

“Trouble at home?”

Emma drew in a deep breath through her nose, her jaw tightening at the jeering tone in Regina's voice. Things had been going so well between them. Why the hell could Ruby just mind her own damned business.

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Emma stuffed her phone back into her pocket as she walked over to the truck, then crouched down by one of the exposed rims. She picked up the largest flap of former tire and wrapped it back over the rim.

“You know you could help.” Emma said as it dropped back to the ground the moment she let it go.

“I’m many things, Miss Swan, but car mechanic is not amongst my skill set.”

Emma let out a sigh as she gave her head a short shake. “I meant magically.”

“I see. You’re fine with me using magic if it benefits you?”

“For the-” Emma turned at the waist to lock her eyes on Regina. “What the hell is your problem?”

“The fact that you feel the need to ask that is one of them.” Regina replied before she turned her back on Emma and started back towards camp.

“You’re just going to leave?” Emma got to her feet.

“Henry needs me.”

“I need you.”

Regina came to a stop, then slowly turned around.

“I mean…”

Regina’s head tilted to the side, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

“Yes?”

“I-“

* _Some day my prince will come_ *

“Oh for the-” Regina motioned with her fingers and Emma's phone appeared in her hand.

“Regina. Wa-” Emma started to protest but it was too late. Regina had already answered the call.

“What part of she'll call you back did you not understand?”

Emma froze in place, eyes fixed on Regina.

_Please don’t let her say it. Please don’t let her say it. Pretty please with a cupcake on top don’t let her say it._

Regina pulled the phone away from her ear and studied it for several seconds before she looked at Emma.

_Oh crap!_

Emma winced.

“She hung up.”

Emma let out a sigh.

_Thank you, Mom._

“You were saying?”

_Dammit!_

“Can- Would you fix the tires... please.”

“Will you tell me why Miss Lucas was here?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because I thought we trusted each other. And whether or not She's your significant other-”

“She's not.”

A number of emotions subtly played across her face as Regina held Emma's gaze for several seconds. “Either way, it's only a matter of time before you find someone to share your life with and-” Regina brushed the front of her shirt as she licked her lips, her hand left resting on her stomach as she continued. “and... that means they will be part of Henry's life as well.” A small smile briefly framed her lips. “I need to know that at least where Henry is concerned, there will never be secrets between us.”

Emma held Regina's gaze while a half dozen replies cycled through her head. “What makes you think there's anyone here I want to be with?”

This time it was a frown that pulled at Regina's lips. “Because you're one of them, Emma, a hero and heroes get happily ever afters. If your True Love isn't here yet, he'll show up soon enough.”

 _And what if it's not a he?”_ The question popped unbidden into Emma's head and she quickly looked away from Regina.

“There's no need to spare me embarrassment, Emma. I've accepted what I am a long time ago. Villains don't get happy endings. Henry is the closest I'll ever come and that's enough for me.”

“I wasn't-” Emma glanced up then dropped her eyes again.” You're not, you know. A villain. You're not the easiest person to get along with some times, but you're not a bad guy either. Or girl... Woman.”

Regina shook her head. “And you're hopeless.”

“Wrong again. I'm still hoping you'll help me fix the tires.”

A laugh, short lived but honest, escaped Regina.

Emma looked up at the sound. “Is that a yes?”

“You still haven't answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Miss Lucas.”

“Oh. Right. Her.”

“Look, if you two are an item it only concerns me so far as how it affects Henry. But for the record you could do much, much better.”

“We're not- Regina, I swear, Ruby and I aren't a thing. I'm not even sure we're friends after today.”

“And why's that?”

She'd walked right into that one. Emma shoved her hands into her coat pockets, almost hoping that her phone would ring again as her fingers brushed against the cell. It didn't.

Stupid phone.

“She... told Snow something she shouldn't have.”

“The thing you' need to talk to her about later?”

“Yeah.” Emma kicked her toe against the ground.

“And this something, it has nothing to do with Henry.”

 _Not yet_ “No.”

“And you really did put her in that excuse for swimwear as punishment for swapping it for your own?”

“Yes.” Emma nodded her head emphatically. “I swear, Regina, if I'd know you and Henry were going to be back that soon I'd have put her in something more appropriate.”

Regina studied Emma's face for several seconds. “And your mother? This something Miss Lucas told her, is it going to a problem between you two?”

“Are you asking because you want to know how upset Snow is, or because you're worried about me?”

“I'm worried about Henry. For reasons I don't understand he looks up to your mother.”

Emma arched an eyebrow as she continued to stare down Regina.

“Though your mother's suffering continues to entertain me.”

“Regina-”

“But not when it affects you. Henry looks up to you as well.”

“For reasons you don't understand.”

“No. I understand them perfectly.” Regina said with a sincerity that sent a flush of heat across Emma's cheeks.

“I don't agree with most of them, but I understand them.”

 _And there it was_ “Funny.” Emma replied in a tone that didn't so much suggest the opposite as shout it from the rooftops.

“I have my moments.”

“Can one of them be fixing the tires.”

“Fine. But pay attention. I won't always be around to clean up after you and the next time you let your emotions get the best of you, you'll at least have some idea what to do.”

Emma stood and motioned towards the truck. “After you.”

“After you, your Majesty.”

* * *

“What's taking so long?” Henry huffed before he flopped back onto the sleeping-bag strewn air mattress, bouncing a few times before the inflatable cushion absorbed the impact. Thank you Snow; he doubted his moms would be getting along as well as they were if they'd spent last night with a rock poking them in the back... or had been, anyway. Right up until Ruby showed up.

He lifted his head and started at the still zippered tent flap for a few seconds before letting it drop back down. 

Why had Ruby showed up? And why had she showed up like _that_. His Mom would never have gotten as mad as she did if Ruby hadn't been wearing something else and he wouldn't be stuck here in the tent waiting for his Moms to get back, hopefully without anyone turned into a frog. Not that Henry thought Regina would use her magic on them. In fact he knew she wouldn't. He knew in his heart that Regina would never use her magic against Emma no matter how mad she got at her,. She might use it to avoid Emma or do something Emma didn't approve of if she thought it would protect Henry but never to hurt Emma.

She wouldn't.

And not just because Regina knew that if she hurt Emma — especially with her magic — Henry would never forgive her. Yeah, it played a part in it but it wasn't all of it; whether they wanted to admit it or not, they were friends. Even before his talk with Ruby after his Moms had dinner together without him some part of him had seen it, had even wanted it to happen, but after watching them these last few days, watching them work together without some major threat forcing them to, seeing them joke around with each other, there was no other word for what they were to each other and they could pretend they weren't all they wanted but it he knew what he saw.

Which was why they should be back by now.

Henry lifted his head again, then sighed. This was why he needed his own phone. If nothing else it would give him something to do while he waited.

Henry turned onto his side. And his eyes landed on his bag tucked against the opposite side of the tent. On the other hand... he still hadn't finished his special project and now was as good a time as any to work on it. Probably better than most, actually. It might be just what his Moms needed to get everything back on track.

After rolling across the mattress to reach his bag, Henry sat up and pulled it into his lap then set about undoing the combination of buckles and zippers that held it closed when a loud bang echoed through the forest.

“What the-” The bag was forgotten as his head snapped. The sound had bounced off every tree it could which made it hard to tell its source but Henry's gut told him it could only have come from one direction.

He turned to look in the direction of the truck.

“Crap.”

His bag was shoved aside in his rush for the tent flap, the zipper letting out an angry buzz of protest as he forced it out of the way before he half tumbled, half crawled into the open air.

Regina wouldn't hurt Emma. She wouldn't. And Henry was pretty sure she wouldn't hurt Ruby either but that didn't mean something could have come to hurt them, this was Storybrooke after all. If someone wasn't trying to destroy it, it was only because they were still planning how to.

Henry ran. He tripped and stumbled too — stupid growth spurt making him all uncoordinated — but that only slowed him down, not stopped him. If his Moms were in danger, he wasn't going to stand around waiting. If nothing else he might be able to get Emma's cell and call Snow and David for help.

As he got nearer to the truck he caught a flash of his Mum through the woods and was about to shout out to her when another voice cut him off.

“You’re just going to leave?”

That was Emma.

Henry's feet slowed.

“Henry needs me.”

Henry came to a stop

“I need you.”

He ducked behind the nearest tree.

Nothing. He could still hear them talking but now it was too quiet to make out what they were saying, He leaned to one side far enough to peek around the tree.

* _Some day my prince will come_ *

Henry ducked back behind the tree. He was starting to regret changing Snow's ringtone. Especially given that he could make out what they were saying again and that meant they were talking louder which meant they were probably angry.

“Oh for the-”

“Regina. Wa-”

“What part of she'll call you back did you not understand?”

There was a pause and then they were back to talking too quietly to make out what they were saying. One thing was clear, Ruby wasn't with them anymore.

Was that a bad thing or a good thing?

Henry leaned out a little further from behind the tree. He should go back to camp. Whatever that bang had been, it didn't seem to be anything dangerous or at least not still dangerous and if they caught him snooping around it could end up upsetting them again like the ringtone had.

He looked back towards their camp, then back towards the truck.

A little longer wouldn't hurt. But he'd need to get closer.

The next several seconds were some of the tensest of Henry's life, his mind made up, he didn't want to miss any more of their conversation than he had to but he didn't want to end up stepping on some branch and gettting discovered either. Eventually, and with sweat beaded on his upper lip, Henry got close enough to make out what they were saying.

“There's no need to spare me embarrassment, Emma. I've accepted what I am a long time ago. Villains don't get happy endings. Henry is the closest I'll ever come and that's enough for me.”

If he wasn't feeling at least a little guilty for invading their privacy already, he sure was now. But hearing Regina call herself a villain, and what that meant for her was almost enough to tempt him out of hiding just so he could tell her how wrong she was. 

“I wasn't- You're not, you know. A villain. You're not the easiest person to get along with some times, but you're not a bad guy either. Or girl... Woman.”

_Yay Mom. You tell her_

“And you're hopeless.”

“Wrong again. I'm still hoping you'll help me fix the tires.”

 _What happened to the tires? Was that the bang?_ Henry's thoughts were short lived, replaced by another round of mental cheering for Emma when he heard Regina laugh.

“Is that a yes?”

“You still haven't answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Miss Lucas.”

“Oh. Right. Her.”

“Look, if you two are an item it only concerns me so far as how it affects Henry. But for the record you could do much, much better.”

Wait. What? Mom and Ruby were a thing? Since when? And why hadn't they told him? Was that why Ruby had wanted him to keep tabs on Emma and Regina this weekend? Was she jealous or something?

“And this something, it has nothing to do with Henry.”

 _What about me?_ It wasn't until he heard Regina say his name that Henry realized he'd gotten lost in his own thoughts and missed a part of the conversation.

“No.”

_Well that doesn't help._

“And you really did put her in that excuse for swimwear as punishment for swapping it for your own?”

“Yes. I swear, Regina, if I'd know you and Henry were going to be back that soon I'd have put her in something more appropriate.”

And it looked like they had moved on from whatever he's missed. Crud. At least they seemed to be getting along again, even it was was a step or two back from where they'd been this morning. Henry turned to head back to the tent.

“And your mother? This something Miss Lucas told her, is it going to a problem between you two?” 

He turned back. So Ruby had said something to Snow and that's why she'd showed up here? Did she have a crush on Emma after all? Was he going to end up with three moms?

“But not when it affects you. Henry looks up to you as well.”

 _Dang it._ He really needed to stop drifting off like that.

“For reasons you don't understand.” 

“No. I understand them perfectly. I don't agree with most of them, but I understand them.” 

“Funny.” 

“I have my moments.” 

“Can one of them be fixing the tires.” 

“Fine. But pay attention. I won't always be around to clean up after you and the next time you let your emotions get the best of you, you'll at least have some idea what to do.” 

“After you.” 

“After you, your Majesty.” 

Henry leaned his back against the tree and took in a slow breath. If Regina was still giving Emma magic lessons, that had to be a good sign. Now all he had to do was get back to their camp without being caught... and figure out how he was going to get Ruby alone and what he was going to say to her once he did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious (and who aren't following my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/howcaniwords)), the delay in getting this posted is entirely Ruby's fault. And no, that's not a joke. After struggling with the Emma/Regina/Ruby version of the confrontation for weeks (a month + to be slightly more accurate) with little to no luck at all I had a brainstorm. Try it without Ruby there. And withing 48 hours I had a version that not only didn't suck (at least to me, your views may be different [and in either case, feel free to share your thoughts below]) but that I actually liked. Like, really liked. Even got a bonus Henry scene in (which was not part of the original outline for this chapter).
> 
> I think the problem with Ruby being there was that she had nothing to do. At least nothing useful (and this probably speaks more of me as a writer than Ruby so, okay, maybe it wasn't entirely Ruby's fault), she either stood there and watched, adding only the occasional sarcastic remark, or turned the whole thing into an all out brawl. Her other scene in this also got a fairly drastic re-write as part of that realization, before she was much more playful and much less conciliatory and I think (again, your views may vary) that this version of her talk with Emma works much better, both for Ruby's own arc within the story and for the larger Swan-queen arc. 
> 
> But don't worry folks (at least those that like my version of Ruby), she'll be back for one more scene (technically two but one of them should, according to the outline, be about 5 lines/50 words so I'm not going to count it as a separate scene. Especially since it's mostly a launch-board into her bigger, much more important scene) in the next chapter though I doubt she'll be in the chapter after that. 
> 
> And speaking of the next chapter (which hopefully will be out on schedule next week) we'll be wrapping up the camping trip proper and the chapter after that, the last chapter, will be the family dinner. I expect the last chapter to be fairly light (word wise, not content wise. I can already feel the feels from here), particularly after the last few (this one weighs in at ~5500 according to my text editor). 
> 
> Anyway, again, apologies for the wait and I hope this chapter as it stands now makes up for it at least a little bit.


	19. You Get An Apology, You Get An Apology, Everyone Gets An Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby is less than happy with being sent back to town and Granny is less than happy when Ruby runs off again (this time with her clothes on) to continue her quest to make things right.
> 
> Back in the forest, Emma and Regina deal with the fallout of Ruby's visit and try to make it through their last night (and morning) of camping. 
> 
> Ooh, and David gets a quest of his own.

“-ing.” Ruby blinked against the sudden influx of florescent light that had replaced the dapple, mid evening sunshine she'd been standing beneath a moment earlier.

“Mother Fu-”

“Girl, what the hell are you wearing?”

Granny's question sliced through Ruby's curse before she could finish it and the were-wolf turned a guilty grin — along with the rest of her self — towards the older woman. Narrowed, accusatory, eyes glared back.

“Umm.” Ruby ducked her head down, her hands plucking at the hips — or where the hips would have been if Regina's idea of cover-up wasn't a shapeless bag with all the sex appeal of a potato sack — of her dress. “I can explain.” Ruby looked up. “But first there's someone else who needs an explanation.”

“What?” Granny asked, her stern expression replaced by confusion only to turn to annoyance as she watched Ruby spin on her toes, pull up her dress, and head for the Diner's front door. “What are you- Come back here and explain yourself young lady or so help me I'll-” Granny's cry cut short as the door closed behind Ruby and several seconds went by before Granny turned away with a “Hmmph!” and stalked back into the kitchen.

In a booth at the back of the diner, Rumple settled back into his seat. The spoon in his hand tapped gently twice against the edge of his cup of tea before he set it on the edge of his saucer. “Well, well.” He said to himself as he brought the cup to his mouth. “Isn't that interesting.”

* * *

Snow looked down at the phone in her hand — Ruby's, her own was tucked into her coat pocket — and let out a heavy sigh as she read off the time. What was taking David so long? The Sheriff's station wasn't that far away and she'd had time to get to the alley, retrieve Ruby's clothes, and get back to the apartment all while on foot. Alright, a run but David had been running too and he had longer legs. Plus half of his trip was supposed to be done in Emma's car... Unless Emma's car had finally broken down. They really did need to get her a new one.

Snow shook her head as she glanced at the phone again. That was a concern for later. Right now her only concern was getting to Emma and making sure that she, that they, that everyone was okay.

Her arms tightened around the bundle of clothes already clutched to her chest and another sigh slipped from Snow's lips. She was sure... well, reasonably sure that Emma was safe, more or less — David was right about that much; True Love or not, Regina wouldn't hurt Emma, not with Henry around — but she was less sure about Ruby.

Entirely unsure, in fact. And not just because of what Regina might do on being confronted with a stark naked version of Snow's best friend, her own reaction to Ruby's theory hadn't exactly been calm, the Gods only knew what Regina's would be like. For once, Snow really hopped that Emma took more after her Father than herself. At least then Ruby would have someone on her side.

Speaking of... “Where are you.” Snow asked herself as she craned her neck to look down the street for any sign of her errant husband. Nothing. Maybe she should go to the station instead of waiting here. If nothing else they might meet half way and save a few extra seconds.

Or they might miss each other completely.

Snow looked at Ruby's phone again, her brow furrowed in indecision.

Or... Her forehead relaxed as an eyebrow rose in thought. She didn't _have_ to wait to see Emma to talk to her... did she?

It took some juggling to get her phone out of her pocket and Ruby's into all while keeping hold of Ruby's clothes but before Snow had time to second guess her decision, her cell was pressed against her ear.

“Pick up. Pick up. Pic-” Snow's mantra was cut off by an abrupt “What?” from the other end of the line.

“Emma?, It's me, your Mother … Oh, right. Um, I just was wondering if Ruby had shown up there bec- … Did she mention anything about you and Regina? …” Snow closed her eyes as she tightened the grip on her phone. “I want you to know that it’s okay if she’s right. I love you, we both do. Your father and I, and we’ll support you, the both of you if that’s what you want. …” One eye opened, then the other. “We support you, Emma. If she’s who you love, we’re happy for you. the both of you. … Yeah.” Snow let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “And about dinner tomorrow- … Wait. Emma. Wait!”

Snow looked down at her phone, her forehead once more wrinkled with emotion. Was Emma mad at her? Did she think she was lying? Oh god, had she been lying? Her talks with David and Archie had helped her see the possibility that Ruby might not be wrong and that if it really was True Love, she was being selfish to try and prevent Emma and Regina from being together but it was one thing to see the truth and another to accept it. Was she lying to herself that she had? Had Emma's internal lie detector picked up on that?

“Dammit.” Snow stomped her foot against the sidewalk. Had she just pushed Emma away by trying not to? Why the hell hadn't David been there to stop her? Why the hell wasn't he here yet so that they could go to their daughter and she could convince Emma that she meant every word.

“Dammit.” Snow grumbled again as she brought up Emma's number again only to hesitate for a few seconds before she stabbed the call button.

_Please Emma, pick up. I meant it, I swear I meant it. Please Em-_

“What part of she'll call you back did you not understand?”

Snow's eyes went wide as Regina's voice, full of cold fury, filled her ear. A single “Eep” escaped her throat before she yanked the phone down and crushed her thumb against the screen of her phone, bringing the call to an abrupt end.

“Dammit!”

“I'm sorry!”

“Ruby?”

Snow's head snapped around to find Ruby standing several feet away. The two women stared at each other, both waiting for the other to speak until the silence press their words out in a simultaneous burst.

"I'm Sorry- / I shouldn't have-"

Both fell silent again until, by unspoken agreement, they raced towards each other. 

“Ruby!” Snow trapped Ruby's arms by her side as she wrapped her own arms around the other woman in a bone creaking hug.

“Uhh... hey.” Ruby wheezed over Snow's shoulder. “Does this mean I'm forgiven, or have you decided to kill me in the most Snow White way ever?”

“What?” Snow eased up her grip enough to lean back and look Ruby in the eye. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that. There's no excuse for the things I said, Ruby, can you ever forgive me?”

Ruby used the slight bit of slack she now had to slip her own arms around Snow's waist. “Well, since you asked so nicely.” An “Ow.” that was more laugh than cry followed when Snow punched Ruby in the shoulder.

“I'm serious, Ruby. I-” Snow tilted her head to the side as she took a step back. “How are you here? Emma told me you were with her.”

“You talked to Em?”

Snow's face pinched in worry. “Oh Gods, Ruby. I think I made a mess of everything.”

“No, Snow, I did. You just caught up in it.”

“No, you don't know. I called her because I was worried about you and I told her that we knew what you said about her and Regina and that we-”

“We?”

“David. I told David.” Snow's chin started to tremble as her eyes filled with tears. “I think I lied to Emma and now she'll never trust me again.”

“Whoa.” Ruby pulled Snow in for another hug. “Hey, hey, listen to me, that's not going to happen, okay. Emma knows how much she means to you and David. Nothing is gonna make her turn her back on either of you. Okay?”

“But if Regina really is her True Love and she thinks I don't approve of them being together than-”

“No. Just, no. You're her mom. She knows how complicated things are between you and Regina. She's not going to hate you for trying to be there for them.” Ruby sighed. “Besides, I think I fucked things up there anyway.”

“What?” Snow pulled back. “How?”

“I... It's a long story." Ruby looked over Snow's shoulder before looking back over her own. "and I'm pretty sure neither of them would want me telling it out here.”

“Right. Right.” Snow took another step back as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “We should go inside.”

“Agreed.” Ruby looked behind Snow one more time only this time her forehead wrinkled at what she saw. Snow turned to see what she was looking at to find Ruby's clothes laying scattered across the sidewalk, dropped and forgotten in her rush to reach Ruby.

Snow pulled away from Ruby as she turned back. The small, apologetic smile on her face replaced by a confused quirk of her cheek as she finally notices what Ruby was wearing. “What... is that?”

“Like I said, “ Ruby stepped past Snow to start collecting her clothes, “long story.”

There may not have been much to Ruby's twice abandoned ensemble but Snow joined in to help anyway. The pair had just turned to head up to the loft when a car horn went off behind them.

“Now he shows up.” Snow shook her head but couldn't stop a smile from reaching her mouth as she turned to watch her husband pulled up to the curb beside them.

“Ruby.” David greeted neutrally as he stepped out of Emma's much loved and much maligned car. “Snow?”

“It's okay. Or not. I don't know.” Snow's smile faded as her throat grew tight with her earlier fears.

“Snow?” Ruby was already pulling Snow in for a hug as David hurried around the car to comfort his wife, both a little surprised when Snow held up a hand to stop him.

“No. It's fine. I just...” Snow sighed before rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand. “I'm just tired.” She looked up to offer an anxious David a weak, but reassuring smile. “You know what I could really use right now?”

“A combo Hug?” David replied, his lips twitching into a hint of a grin when his answer got a short chuckle from Snow.

“Yes, that, but also some of Granny's lasangna. Could you go to the diner and get some?” Snow leaned against Ruby's shoulder. “I really don't feel like cooking tonight.”

David exchanged a glance with Ruby before he gave Snow a nod. “Will do. Garlic bread?”

“Yes please.”

“For three?”

Snow nodded, not even giving Ruby a chance to decline the invitation.

“Alright, dinner for three coming up.”

* * *

“Gods it feels good to be in real clothes again.” Ruby sighed contentedly as she emerged from Snow's bathroom.

“So is now when you tell me how you got into whatever that was?” Snow pointed at the bundle of fabric held in Ruby's hands while following Ruby with her eyes as the other woman walked over to the couch to flop down next to her.

“Depends.” Ruby replied, tossing the 'dress' onto the coffee table, then rocked from side to side as she folded her legs under herself.

“On what?”

“On if you want to skip the part where I apologize for this disaster and promise to do whatever it takes to make it better.”

“Ruby-”

“Snow. Please.” Ruby turned her head as she took one of Snow's hands between her own. “I had no right to do or say the things I did. Doesn't matter if I was right or not. I fucked up big time and I need to face the music. With you, with Emma, with Regina. Hell, even with David. He can't be to happy with me right now either.”

“He agrees with you, actually.” Snow said, her eyes dipped down as she laid her other hand over Ruby's.

“Really?”

“Yes. He and Archie both-”

“You told Archie? Shit, Snow, I never meant to send you to therapy.”

“It wasn't like that.” Snow looked up. “I mean, it was close but, no, I bumped into him and told him what happened.” She tilted her head slightly. “Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“I used fake names.”

Ruby shook her head. “Oh Gods, Snow. Tell me you didn't use the whole 'I have a friend' thing?"

Snow gave Ruby a bashful smile and a shrug.

Ruby shook her head as she let out a small laugh. “So Archie knows... and he thinks they're True Love too?”

“Ye-” Snow cut herself off, her head tilting in the other direction as she recalled her conversation with Archie. “Actually... He didn't really say one way or the other, just asked me if I did.”

Ruby nodded slowly, swallowing before she asked, “And do you?”

Snow pulled her hands back and folded them on her lap.

Ruby did the same.

“I don't know. I thought I did, or that I could, but then I called Emma and told her that if Regina was who she loved that David and I would support her and she just hung up on me and now I don't know if I do, or only thought I did and Emma knew that I didn't really mean it and now she- she-”

Ruby reached out to place a hand on Snow's arm only to rest it on the back of the couch near Snow's shoulder instead.

“I don't think that's it.”

“You don't?” Snow asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

“No.” Ruby pulled her hand back and started to pick at her nails. “I kinda... pissed her off. A lot. I mean I thought you were mad at me when I told you but-”

“I'm sorry about that.”

Ruby looked up. “I know. I wouldn't be sitting here if you weren't but I still need to make all this right and I'm gonna start by making sure you know it's not you Emma's pissed at. Because it's not, Snow. It's me.” Ruby dropped her gaze back to her hands. “And the thing is she wasn't even mad at me for thinking she's in love with Regina or that Regina's in love with her. She wasn't even that mad that I showed up au natural — okay she was kinda mad about that but mostly because it pissed off Regina — but the thing she was the maddest about was that I told you what I thought.”

Ruby's shoulders slumped before she leaned back over the arm of the couch, arms crossed over her face.

“If I kept my big mouth shut, if I just stayed out of it none of this would have happened. Now...” A heavy sigh passed Ruby's lips before she sat back up and looked Snow in the eye. “What if I ruined everything? Not just our friendship or me and Emma's friendship but her and Regina. What if I made Emma so scared of her feelings for Regina that they never happen. You tried, Snow, you. And you and David are, like, epic True Love. If even you tried to run away from it and all you had to deal with was David getting married off to someone else, what's Emma going to do? I didn't just screw up friendships here, I might have screwed up destiny, Snow. I might have taken away your daughter's happy ever after. How can either of you forgive me for that?”

Silence filled the loft for several moments before Snow turned to grab a box of tissues from the end table and held them out to Ruby.

“If you're right about them being True Love, Rubes, you didn't screw up anything.” Snow plucked a few tissues for herself after Ruby had grabbed a handful.

“But.”

“No, shut up. It's my turn to talk and your turn to listen. You're right, I did try to escape how I felt for David but it didn't work, did it? True Love can't be stopped. It can't be held back or fought or destroyed. It's _the_ most powerful force in the universe and if Emma and Regina are True Loves...” Snow shrugged as her fingers toyed with one of her tissues. “Nothing will stop them from being together. Not even each other.”

Ruby sniffled before leaning forward to wrap Snow in a hug. “Still think you don't believe in them?”

Snow coughed out a single laugh. “No.”

“You know I love you, right?”

“You know I love you back, right?”

“Am I interrupting?”

Ruby looked over her shoulder to flash David a grin. “Yeah, come back in twenty minutes.”

“Screw that.” Snow said as she pushed Ruby away. “I want my garlic bread.” She got to her feet and grabbed one of the bags from David then checked the contents before she leaned in to kiss him. “And kisses.”

“Garlic kisses,” Ruby screwed her face up in disgust, “the ultimate test of True Love.”

“Shut up and come eat.”

“Yes Dear.” David and Ruby replied in chorus.

* * *

The rest of the evening had been surprisingly normal — or as normal as anything in Emma's life had been since she'd crossed Storybrook's town line. After repairing the truck's tires, she and Regina had returned to the camp in silence to find Henry patiently waiting for them inside the tent and aside from him asking where Ruby was (“She decided to go home.” - Regina) there was no mention of their unexpected visitor. In fact, if not for a brief hesitation whenever Emma or Regina had to interact with the other, it wasn't that different from the previous night. The only other difference of note was an absence of a final private magic lesson before they turned in for the night. (“ 'Cause I'm practiced out, kid.” - Emma)

There was one event where Emma feared that the welcome, if tenuous, peace might fall apart and that was Henry's refusal to sleep in the middle but before their son could get too far in his attempted guilt trip (“It's so hot between you two, and I'm too young to be baked alive” - Henry), Regina shot him down by casting a cooling spell on the tent. A fact Emma was silently thankful for given how they'd woken up that morning. After today she wasn't sure she how Regina would react to waking up in her arms and if that meant using Henry as a buffer, so be it.

But it came at a price; Regina used the opportunity as an on-the-spot lesson for Emma (“I don't care how 'practiced out' you are. Rule one is still in effect. Besides, you already covered the basics of the spell at the lake. Consider this a perfect chance to refine your control.” - Regina).

Once Regina had declared both spell and tent ready, the trio had taken turns changing into their sleepwear. Henry first, (light blue pyjamas hand made by Regina complete with his initials stitched in gold thread) then Emma, (a plain white t-shirt, grey sweatpants and — as uncomfortable as she found sleeping in one — her bra) and finally, Regina (a knee length silk nightgown in apple red that, from the brief look Emma got before Regina burrowed under her blanket as the other two crawled into the tent, was every bit as form fitting as Ruby's outfit hadn't been).

After a few minutes of grumbling from Henry before he reluctantly admitted that the spell was, in fact, working, the three said their good nights but it was a good twenty minutes before Emma, her back to the others, finally fell asleep.

* * *

Emma woke to hair in her face. As slowly as the dark brown locks tickling her back to consciousness, the gentle transition didn't stop her brain from seizing in panic the moment it was awake enough to put two and two together before she even opened her eyes.

_Oh crap_

Emma's hand shifted slightly, just enough to confirm the touch of silk against her fingertips, the slick fabric warmed by the body it wrapped almost soothing if not for the adrenaline that jolted through Emma's body as she froze up along with her brain.

_Oh Fuck_

There was the sound of movement and Emma felt the body under her hand twist as it adjusted itself.

_Fuck me_

A hand closed around her own, soft skin against skin and it was all Emma could do to stop herself from jerking her hand away lest she wake Regina up.

She was going to kill that kid. It didn't matter if he'd rolled over one of them in his sleep or ducked outside to take a piss and dropped into the first empty spot he could find when he came back. He had one job to do last night and that was to keep her from-

The hand over hers gave a squeeze and Emma felt her heart race against the inside of her chest. It was only when she felt her lungs start to burn that Emma realized she had been holding her breath this whole time. A gasp, louder than thunder in Emma's ears, forced fresh air into her lungs, air heavy with the scent of Regina's shampoo.

Just as quickly her body rejected the air and Emma could feel the hair stir against her face as her hot breath set it dancing.

_Fu-_

“Mom?”

Emma's eyes shot open before blinking against the mop of hair her face was buried in.

“Mom?” Henry asked again, his voice stronger as he turned to look over his shoulder, freeing Emma's face in the process.

“Henry?” Her voice was a whisper but every bit of it was crammed with relief. It wasn't Regina, it was Henry. Henry, who used Regina's shampoo.

Henry who was using both hands to pull her arm up so that he could sit up. “I gotta pee.” he explained as he pulled Emma's hand free from the one holding it.

“Henry. Wait.” Emma hissed, trying to keep her voice low enough not to wake Regina but firm enough to keep her son from leaving.

“Sorry mom, when you got to go, you got to go.”

“Henry. Henry!” Emma's voice rose to a stage whisper before she silenced herself, her eyes fixed on Regina's back just a foot away as the buzz of the zipper filled the air followed by a gust of cool morning air.

Regina trembled, then reached back into the no-man's-land between them to find Emma's and pulled it back to her hip

_Shit!Shit!Shit!_

There had to be a way out of this. Henry had already pulled her hand free once without waking Regina, Surely she could do the same, right?

Emma gently started to pull her hand back. No luck. This time Regina tightened her grip on it. Worse, she also pulled it, and Emma closer until Emma felt her palm pressed against Regina's stomach.

“ 'M cold.” Regina murmured, closing what little distance remained between them by wriggling back against Emma. “Tha's better.”

Emma glanced at the still partial open flap and the sliver of freedom she could see through the unzipped portion. She looked back at Regina. She looked back at the flap.

“Kid?” She whispered. Nothing. “Henry?” she gave it a few more seconds before she turned back to Regina in time to see her tremble again, only this time she was close enough to feel it too.

“Damn kid.” She grumbled softly, twisting her self around so that her other hand could grab hold of the blanket and pull it higher over the both of them. If she was going to catch hell for this when Regina woke up, she'd at least keep her warm enough to be in a good mood when that happened.

Emma dropped her head back down, the scent of Regina's shampoo assaulting her from Henry's pillow and Regina's hair simultaneously. Only it wasn't really an assault because, dammit, it was so soothing. Ironic given how anxious she'd felt around Regina for the last week. Ever since Ruby had put that stupid idea in her head that they were True Loves.

Sure, on the surface it kind of made sense. They got along, more or less, had a kid together, were both strong willed women who fought for what they believed in, were both royalty, technically, though Emma wasn't sure how she felt about suddenly being a princess so she usually avoided thinking about it. If only avoiding this was as easy. But the more she thought about it, the more she could see where Ruby was coming from. And then there was the whole thing with their magic. She may be new to the whole 'Magic is real' deal but even Emma had to admit that what she felt whenever she and Regina combined their powers was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, or when she was just using her own. There was even a kind of symmetry to the 'Evil Queen' and the 'Saviour' falling for each other. Hell if this was a fairy tale — the kind she'd grown up with, not the kind she lived with now — you'd be half expecting it to happen from the first time they met.

“Like that would ever work.” Emma scoffed under her breath while her thumb started to gently sweep back and forth against Regina's stomach. “Can you imagine that?”

“Hmm?”

Emma froze again but when Regina made no other sounds, or signs of waking up, she slowly started to relax. She had to be more careful. The only reason Regina hadn't zapped her back to town along with Ruby was because she didn't know about Ruby's little theory and as far as Emma was concerned it would stay that way.

The buzz of the zipper snapped Emma from her thoughts and launched her back, the abrupt motion also waking up Regina who looked sleepily over her shoulder.

“Emma?”

“Oh good, your both awake.” Henry crawled in, pushing Emma towards Regina as he grabbed his bag despite Emma's attempts to keep several inches between her and Regina. “Does that mean we can get started on breakfast?” Henry asked, oblivious to Emma's efforts or Regina's raised eyebrow as she watched them. “Because I'm starving.”

“We'll be there in a moment, Henry. Why don't you go and get the fire started.”

Henry gave Regina an incredulous look. “For real? Me? Start the fire?”

“Emma showed you how to, didn't she?”

“Uh, yeah.” Henry and his bag both disappeared out the flap before Regina could change her mind.

“Emma?”

Emma kept her eyes fixed on her top as she picked at the fabric covering the top of their shared air mattress.

“Emma?” Regina asked again, this time less question and more command, and this time reaching out to put her hand over one of Emma's. “Look at me.”

Emma licked her lips, then drew in a deep breath through her nose and held it for several seconds before complying.

“Emma, about yesterday-”

“I'm sorry. Ruby- She- That is-”

Regina snapped her fingers and Emma's voice went silent, her lips continuing to move for a few seconds before she gave Regina a wide eyed stare.

Regina shrugged before she gave her fingers another snap. “It was the fastest way to shut you up.”

“I-”

Regina raised her hand again, finger's poised for another snap. “No talking. Let me say what I have to say and then you can speak, alright?”

Emma looked from the fingers to Regina's face before she gave a single nod.

“I'm sorry.”

“What? But-”

“Emma, I will take your voice away for the rest of the day if you don't shut up and let me finish.” Regina snapped, her eyes dipping almost instantly from Emma's the moment she finished speaking.

“... you're lying.” Emma said.”

“Good. That still works so there shouldn't be any doubt about what I'm trying to say if _someone_ would give me ten seconds of quite.

“Sorry.” Emma mumbled, her own gaze turned back to the mattress. “I just-”

“Need to stay quite.” Regina said pointedly.

“Right. Got'cha.”

A snort of laughter pulled Emma's eyes back up but all she saw was the ghost of the smile it left behind on Regina's face. “I wanted to apologize for my... reaction yesterday. I had no right to behave the way I did, whether or not you and Miss Lucas are more than friends.”

“We aren't.”

“Shush, don't interrupt.”

“Sorry.”

A sigh slipped past the small smile that had found it's way to Regina's lips A smile which faded almost as quickly as it arrived. “My point is, you have every right to have whatever relationships you want with whoever you want and, outside of how those relationships may affect Henry, I have no right to an opinion one way or the other." Regina paused to brush her hair back from her face and Emma looked away as she felt a need to reach out and smooth down a stray lock. "It seems I still have some work to do when it comes to sharing the people I care about.” Regina swallowed. “Like Henry." Regina cleared her throat, then pushed herself up until she was sitting. "But for the record, You could certainly do better than _her_ even if you are something of a project for whatever soul is unlucky enough to be bound to yours.”

“Gee, thanks.” Emma replied dryly. The corners of her mouth twitched into a hint of a grin that Regina could only hear with Emma's face still turned away.

“For what it's worth, I get why you did blow up like that-”

“If memory serves, Dear, you were the one blowing things up.”

“Shhh, don't interrupt.” Emma looked up at Regina with a mock scowl.

“Umm.. could one of you come out here... I think I made a mistake.”

Their shared smiles dropped from their faces as Emma and Regina stared at each other, wide eyed, before both scrambled out of the tent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published, 10 10 2016 (10th, Oct)
> 
> Revised: 11 10 2016 (11th, Oct) - Minor editorial changes
> 
> So... how's everyone doing? A shout out to all my fellow Canadians about to celebrate Thanksgiving. Also, new chapter. By some strange quirk of fate (and literary physics) this Chapter is simultaneously both more than, and less than, I had planned. That is to say that it covers only half of the original chapter outline but it's also clocking in a ~4800 words so I decided to split the outline in two; both to get out something for y'all to read after being so patient with me, and because if this continued at its current pace word count wise, it would make for an unwieldy large chapter.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy it (and hope to get the rest of the chapter out sooner rather than later) and if you have any comments, questions, etc, please feel free to send them in. (or if you notice any typos... especially then).
> 
> Ohh, also, as (semi) promised in the replies on the last chapter, I've included (half) of the original chapter outline below for anyone interested in that sort of thing (this one actual hung pretty close to the outline, all things considered; more so than most of the chapters.)
> 
> * * *
> 
> {{ Ruby 'returned' to Granny's mid speech to Regina (Ruby) “[[I can ex]]<<Check last chapter for exact wording>>-plain everythi-mother fu-” (granny) “Girl, what the hell are you wearing” Ruby looks down outfit than up at Granny “I can explain but first theres something I need to do” runs off to find Snow, Granny shouting “Wait/Stop/Get Back Here<<etc>>” Rumple leans back into seat in far booth, picks up cup of tea and, to self, “Interesting”}}
> 
> {{ Snow waiting outside apartment << w Ruby's clothes (Something about Grumpy and his lewd-ish comments?) >> (Snow) “What is taking david so long << etc >> Calls, Emma << first time. Check last chapter for exact wording Emma's end of convo, fill in Snow's >> get's hung up on, flusters << Have Ruby arrive then or later? >> Calls Emma second time, gets Regina, hangs up. << more flustered, etc. Ruby Def Shows up by here >> Ruby tries to apologized, Snow tries to apologize, both head back up stairs << meet Archie/Pongo on way? >> for more privacy.}}
> 
> << Continue scene or Cut away? >>
> 
> {{ Snow and Ruby in apartment. Ruby's all “I shouldn't have interfered” Snow's all “ I shouldn't have overreacted” Much reconciliation/feels }}
> 
> {{ Campsite, next morning, recap rest of previous night << Henry again not wanting to sleep between mums “Too Hot”, Regina with magic 'air conditioning' Henry as buffer between them whole night, etc >> Emma/Regina wake up, hands/arms across henry ' reaching out for the other << holding hands? >> etc. Awkward/Embarrassed fluff. Get out of tent to start day. }}


	20. All Good Things...

The fire was brought under control fairly quickly —mostly by Regina's magic but helped by Emma pulling anything inflammable out of range— while Henry stood a safe distance away, apologizing as he watched his mothers work together.

“Relax, Kid.” Emma picked up a partially charred branch that had fallen out of the stone ring encircling their fire-pit and tossed it back onto the now reasonably sized flame. “It's my fault for not being clearer on how much lighter fluid is too much.”

“As much as I'd love to let you take the blame for this one, Dear, I should have put a ward in place to prevent this from happening.”

Emma rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead —a smudge of soot left behind— then wiped her hands on her pant legs as she turned to face Regina. “You can do that?”

Regina gave Emma a look that was one eye-roll short of belittling her intelligence and merely questioned it instead. “Of course I can. How else do you think I do this-” she held out her hand, palm up, and one of her trademark fireballs flared into existence, “-without burning myself.”

“Magic.” Emma answered, unwilling to admit that she'd always wondered about that particular trick. “But if you could have done that here-” Emma pointed at the fire, “-why didn't you?”

Regina licked her teeth as a smirk spread across her lips. She crossed her arms over her chest; the fireball snuffed out as her fingers curled against her palm. “Because _certain_ events yesterday evening distracted me.”

Emma winced. She walked into that one.

Regina's grin grew a little more. “And for the record, I did cast one our first night here.”

Curiosity, and a desire to move the conversation away from yesterday, made Emma ask, “So why not cast it to last the whole weekend?”

“Well for one, the base spell isn't designed to last that long or do you think I make a habit of walking around with a fireball in my hand for hours at a time.” Regina gave Emma another of _those_ looks. “And for another, without something to bind it in place, a spell isn't permanent and I didn't think to bring along the contents of my vault for this little expedition.”

“Uhh?” Emma pointed at the sky and waved her hand around in several circles. “Magical town, thirty years and counting.”

“Yes, and the spell that did that took several extremely rare ingredients.” Regina countered before her smirk faded from her face. “And some very dear ingredients as well.”

Emma winced. Again.

“So spells need ingredients to make them permanent?” Henry turned from Emma to Regina.

“Yes.”

Henry nodded slowly. “What about True Love? Does it need ingredients too?”

Emma looked over at Regina.

Regina looked back, then turned to Henry. “It's complicated.”

“But you said that magic needs ingredients to last and True Love is the strongest magic, right? So it has to need the strongest ingredients to make it last doesn't it? And if it doesn't then how does it…” Henry trailed off, his face scrunched in thought. “Unless… are the people are the ingredients?” His face scrunched up even more in disgust. “Yuck.”

“That's not-” Regina started to explain than stopped herself. “Magic is emotion. Light or dark, small or big, weak or powerful, all magic is ultimately emotion. That's why it needs something physical to bind it into a permanent spell.”

Despite herself, Emma asked, “Except True Love?”

Regina turned back to Emma

“Or is the kid right and the people are part of it?”

Regina licked her lips. “Like I said, it's complicated.” She waved her hand in a dismissive flip. “And you barely have a grasp on how to control your magic while it's only temporary.”

“Well maybe if my _teacher_ explained how magic works more instead of making me float rocks around, I'd have better luck controlling my magic.”

“And if I thought you could stay _focused_ , maybe I would.” Regina put her hands on her hips as she stepped towards Emma. 

Emma stepped forward to match her. “Try me.”

The two women held each other's gaze for several seconds before Regina shook her head as she looked away. “Fine.” Another wave of her hand and Regina's sleepwear was replaced with a pair of black jeans that looks suspiciously like ones Emma had brought with her and a surprisingly casual white and dark purple checkered flannel top with the top two buttons undone. 

Regina pushed the already rolled up sleeves above her elbow as she made her way over to the log that had served as a combination counter and bench over the last few days. With her arms rested on her thighs, fingers interwoven, she motioned for Emma and Henry to take a seat with a tilt of her head.

“I don't want to spend all day on this so pay attention, the both of you.” Regina took a deep breath, then looked between them before settling her eyes on the campfire. “I told you that all magic ultimately comes down to emotion.”

“Yeah.” Henry confirmed. 

“Don't interrupt.” Regina told him with, Emma noticed, a much softer tone than she used when telling her the same thing.

Henry gave a sheepish grin as he mouthed 'sorry'.

“As I was saying” Regina backtracked, “All magic is emotion-” her gaze shifted from her son to Emma, “-more or less.”

Emma raised her hand, an act which earned a giggle from Henry before he slapped his hand over his mouth.

Regina gave her head a small shake. “You want to know if it's _more_ or _less_ , don't you?”

Emma lowered her hand as she nodded.

After a moment's thought, Regina replied with, “Both.”

“But-”

Regina cut Emma off. “As I said, it's complicated. Magic _is_ emotion. That's true enough but a more accurate way to put it would be that magic _channels_ emotion. Good or bad, it doesn't matter. You can grow a forest with hate and destroy it with love.” Regina paused, a bitter sweet smile flickering at the corners of her mouth as she stared into the fire pit. “In fact, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two some times.” She gave her head another shake and looked up, first at Emma then a heartbeat later at Henry.

“Magic isn't physical thing, you can't fill a bottle with it, you can't hold it in your hands-”

“What about fairy dust?” Henry asked.

“Yeah, what about fairy dust.” Emma joined in. “That's, like, condensed magic isn't it?”

“No.” Regina shook her head as she focused on Emma. “And yes.” Before Emma could speak, Regina held up a hand. “No, listen. If you keep interrupting I'll never finish explaining so, both of you, listen. Fairy dust is magic in that it's magical but it's not _magic_. Not really. It's magic bound in physical form, just like I said early. For magic to last it needs something to bind it to the physical world. Fairy dust is how magic came into the Enchanted Forest and how we have magic here now. And certain things like fairy dust hold more magic than others and some change how the magic works which is why some spells need specific ingredients but whatever the spell, whatever the physical components involved, all magic, all practical applications of magic, come down to emotion. The stronger the emotion you draw on, the stronger the spell you can cast and the longer it will last but eventually any spell will fade away if it's not bound to something and some spells fade faster than others however strong the magic behind them.” Regina paused to take a breath and used the time to look between the members of her audience to see if they were still following her. “The most common way to bind a spell is a potion but it can be anything, a sprinkling of certain herbs, a drop of blood. Even an ordinary everyday object-”

“Like a campfire?” Henry pointed towards theirs.

“Yes, though in that case it would be the stones around it and not the fire itself.” Regina clarified. “The important thing is that it must be a physical object in its own right.” She looked over at Emma. “Which is why you can't just summon up an ingredient you're missing. Magic can't bind magic. Not alone, anyway.”

Emma leaned forward in her seat, her elbows rested on her knees as she nodded along with Henry. 

“True Love-” Regina held Emma's eyes for a moment longer before she turned back to the campfire. “-True Love _is_ the strongest magic _because_ it's also the purest. That's also why it's so rare. Any doubt, any hesitation from either side of a relationship and the magic is… tainted.” 

Regina's eyes flicked up to find Emma's once more before quickly turning to Henry. “So, in a way, the people are an ingredient in True Love, but not the way they would be in any other spell.”

“So… if two people love each other but they aren't sure if the other person loves them back, even if the other person does, that's enough to stop it from being True Love?” Henry looked over at Emma as he spoke.

“Yes. Love is a powerful thing, and like most powerful things, it can be… frightening. True Love means opening yourself to someone else completely, exposing yourself completely to the other person. To trust them not to use the power that gives them against you, wilfully or accidentally. It's trusting someone else so much that there's no room for doubt in your heart and therefor no room for doubt in the magic.”

“But…” Emma said, falling silent the moment Regina looked in her direction.

“But?”

“My parents- Snow doubted her and David enough to drink a potion to make her forget him. Are you saying they aren't True Love?”

“No I'm not and no she didn't.” Regina shook her head. “It wasn't doubt that made her drink that potion, it was pain. The pain of not being with the person she loved most in the whole world.” A sad smile ghosted across Regina's lips. “I know what that pain can make you do.”

“Mum?” Henry closed his hand over Regina's and she turned her head to give him a stronger, happier smile.

“I'm fine, Henry.” She leaned over to kiss the top of his head, lingering a second longer than she needed to to inhale the scent of his hair. “But back to your question. That's the secret ingredient in True Love, the ingredient that makes it the most powerful magic there is, the rarest magic, and the most permanent. Trust. Trusting someone enough to open your heart to them unconditionally. No secrets, no lies, just you, all of you, the good, the bad, all of it. That's also the price one pays for its magic. But once you pay that price, once someone knows your heart that completely and you know theirs, that trust binds you together.”

“Forever?” Henry asked, his forehead wrinkled in trepidation. 

Regina gave a small shrug. “I've never heard of it failing.”

“Wait,” Emma said, “how is trust a physical thing?”

“Yeah,” Henry agreed, “You said magic needed a real thing to hold it in place, trust isn't a real thing.”

“Well,” Emma turned to face Henry. “I mean, it is a real thing it's just not a physical thing.”

“That's what I meant.” Henry rolled his eyes before turning back to Regina, Emma following his lead a half beat later.

“Because trust is the emotion that allows the heart to hold the magic.”

“But didn't you say that any emotion could do magic?”

“Kid.” Emma kept Regina in the corner of her eye as she turned to their boy.

“It's alright. And you're right, I did. I also said it's complicated. Just like some spells need specific ingredients, some ingredients need specific emotions. In the case of True Love, that emotion is trust.”

“But what about when you-” Henry mimed plucking a heart out.

“Henry!” Emma chastised.

“It's fine.”

“No it's not.”

“Emma..” 

Emma turned back to Regina. 

“I tried hiding my past from him once, it didn't work. I'm fine. Really.”

Emma looked like she would protest again and Henry watched both of his mothers as he awaited his fate. After several seconds, Emma let out a sigh. “Alright.”

Regina turned back to Henry. “And as for your question, when I-” Regina repeated Henry's gesture, “-that gave me control over someone, but it was limited. I couldn't make them love me or stop them from loving someone else, true love or other wise. Do you understand the difference now?”

Henry nodded slowly. “And you can only have one True Love, right?” Henry looked over at Emma again. 

Regina's eyes followed. “No.”

“But-”

“Do you love me, Henry?”

Henry turned back to Regina. “Yeah, of course.”

Regina turned to her son. “And do you love Emma?”

“Yes.”

“And do you love either of us any less because you love the other.”

“… No.”

“Exactly. Love, any love, is magic-”

“Because emotions are magic.” Emma broke in.

“No.” Regina looked over at Emma. “Because Love is endless. Anger, true anger is as powerful and pure as love but it needs to be fed to be maintained. Hate is the same way. Fear, sadness, regret; all of the other emotions can overwhelm a person until they're all that we can feel but they all fade with time. Love doesn't.”

“But you can fall out of love.” Emma protested.

“Can you? Do you remember your first love? Do you still feel it in your chest when you think about it? We tell ourselves that love fades with time but it's a lie. It doesn't fade, it just changes.” Regina cocked an eyebrow. “Anything else is just hormones.”

A smile pulled at one corner of Emma's mouth “And how do you know all of this? No offence but, you weren't exactly raised to believe in the power of love.”

“No I wasn't. But I was one of the most powerful Sorceress' ever and any _real_ practitioner of the art comes across the legends of True Love's power at some point.” Regina brushed her hair back behind her right ear. “And I had a reason to learn all I could. After all, you can't fight an enemy you don't know.”

“So True Love's your enemy?”

“It was, once.”

 _And Now?_ Emma felt herself teetering on the edge of asking those words aloud, her toes dug into the packed earth at her feet in an attempt to keep her balance until she could swallow them down.

“You showed up on my doorstep.”

Emma's eyes went wide. “I- What-”

“You broke my curse, Emma. With True Love's kiss no less. True Love destroyed the most powerful curse to ever be cast in any realm. It's hard to deny the power of True Love when you're staring it in the face.”

Emma swallowed again as she held Regina's gaze.

“I love you Mum.” Henry threw his arms around Regina from the side.

“And I love you too.” Regina turned away from Emma to place another kiss on Henry's head.

“And Mom?”

Emma studied her hands. “Uhh-”

“She loves you too, Henry.” Regina brushed the hair off Henry's forehead.

“Yeah.” Emma felt herself start to breath again. “What she said.”

“Henry pulled his head away from Regina's arm and turned to Emma. “What about my dad?”

“I-” Regina glanced over at Emma, not sure if she should handle this one as well.

“I'm sure he would love you too, Kid.”

“No, I meant was he your True Love?”

“Henry-” Regina glanced over at Emma, this time because Emma waved her hand to stop her. 

“I… It's complicated.”

“So it _wasn't_ True Love?”

Emma's lips parted, then closed. Her shoulders hunched forward as she leaned back in her seat.

“Henry, I think-”

This time Emma motioned Regina into silence as she turned to Henry. “I though he was.”

“But now you don't?”

A laugh, more breath than sound, left Emma's mouth. She could feel them watching her as she picked up a stick and poked the coals at the base of the campfire. “Something like that.” She put the stick aside as she looked up at Henry. “I loved him. I guess a part of me always will but…” her eyes slid over to Regina “I don't know if it was True Love.”

“And Daniel?”

“Henry!” Emma snapped.

“No, no.” Regina shooed Emma down. “If you can answer the question, so can I.”

“It's not a contest, Regina.”

“You don't have to.” Henry pulled away. “I shouldn't have asked-”

“Maybe it isn't.” Regina turned to Henry as she pulled him back. “And maybe you shouldn't have, but you did and I'm going to answer.”

Emma looked down at her feet as Regina turned her head to look at the fire.

“Daniel… He was my first love —which is a special magic all on its own— and for a long time I thought he was my True Love.”

Emma's breath caught in her lungs.

“But I was a very different person then. I'm not sure he could have loved the woman I became and I'm not sure I would have wanted him to.”

“But you're changing now.” Henry whispered. “You're turning good again.”

“I'll never be good, Henry. I can be better than I was but my heart will always be stained by what I did.”

“Does that mean you can't find True Love anymore? 'Cause your heart's not pure?”

Emma looked up to find Regina watching her over the flames.

“I don't know." Regina turned to Henry. "True Love takes an act of complete trust on both sides. I would have to find someone who could trust me that much knowing what I was and who _I_ could trust to accept that part of me.”

"But you said that you didn't want Daniel to love you because of what you did so how-"

"Henry."

Regina glanced over at Emma to see her still staring into the fire.

"Sorry, mum." 

"Don't be." Regina turned back to Henry. "I'm the one who agreed to talk about Daniel and it's a valid question. And my answer would be that the person I was when Daniel fell in love with me is someone I can never be again and there would always be some part of me that would know that, some part of me that would doubt I deserved his love, some part of me that would doubt that he could love me as I am now. That wouldn't be true for someone else. Not that I expect there ever will be someone else." 

“There will be!” Henry said with so much determination in his voice it brought small grins to both of his mothers' faces. “But it's kind of sad when you think about all those people out there that could have True Love if they weren't so scared of it…”

Emma grabbed her stick and jabbed it into the coals again. “Yeah…” She started into the fire, “… it is.” 

A loud clap snapped her head up.

“And now that that's done,” Regina said as she rose to her feet, Henry still clinging to her side, “Who's ready for some breakfast.”

* * *

“Morning.” Ruby greeted David as he stepped into the kitchen though it sounded more like “Muh-nihn” by the time it made its way past the mouthful of toast she was working on. A mouthful she was quick to swallow. “Or should I say afternoon.” she added as she leaned to the side to look past David and down the hall that led to the bedroom he shared with Snow. “Our girl not up?”

David poured himself a cup of coffee and scooped two full spoons worth of sugar into the steaming brew before he answered with a simple, “Nope.”

“ 'Cause you wore her out?” Ruby asked with a suggestive edge along side the hint of hope in her voice and an even more suggestive wriggling of her eyebrows.

The scrap of his spoon along the inside of his mug paused for a heartbeat. “No.”

“Oh.” Ruby's shoulders slumped as she dropped her eyes to her empty plate. Her thumb slowly swept the crumbs on it together, the hard, dried bread stuck to her skin by pressure alone brushed off between her other fingertips. “You sure? Because if you did, you don't need to be shy about it. Snow tells me everything anyway.”

David arched an eyebrow at that detail but said nothing as he stirred cream into his coffee.

“… No?” Ruby pushed her plate away. “So it's just yesterday that wore her out then…”

David tapped his spoon against the edge of his mug three times, then placed it in the sink before he turned to face Ruby. “You've got some jam on your-” He pointed at a spot on his chin with his free hand.

Ruby swiped her thumb over her chin and found nothing.

“No, other side.”

Ruby repeated the gesture and this time her thumb came away with a smear of red that Ruby was quick to suck clean. “Thanks. And thanks for letting me crash here last night. I so wasn't up to dealing with Granny giving me the third degree.”

“Your welcome.” David took a sip from his mug, then poured a little more cream into before he took another sip. He nodded. 

“How long do you think it'll take for Emma to forgive me?”

“Did I ever tell you about my first cup of coffee?”

Ruby looked up from the counter. “That long?”

“First thing I wanted after I got out of my coma. Well, after a pair of pants that is.”

“Fascinating. Not really helpful though. Or reassuring.”

“Whale was examining me so I could be cleared to go home and I remember sitting there thinking how much I wanted a cup of coffee. Black. No sugar.”

“David, I'm a big girl. Just tell me your daughter will never forgive me, please. I'm begging you.”

David took another sip from his cup and swirled the liquid around his tongue before he swallowed. “And once I got my hands on one, I remember thinking how good it was.”

“Or you could keep telling me about coffee.” Ruby sighed as she got off her stool and made her way over to the couch still covered in the blankets and pillows Snow had given her last night to find her shoes and coat.

“I must have drunk… I don't even know how many cups of coffee like that between waking up from that coma and Emma breaking the curse.” David continued as he too made his way over to the couch and took a seat. “And I remember the first cup of coffee I had after she broke the curse and we all got our memories back.”

“Lem'me guess” Ruby said dryly as she got down on all fours to look under the couch for her missing shoe. “it was even better.”

“Worst cup of coffee I ever had.”

Ruby's head popped back into view and she blew her hair away from her eyes. “What?”

“The worst.”

“David…” Ruby sighed.

“Do you know why it was the worst.”

“No, but I'm pretty sure you're going to tell me?” She snarked as she took a seat at the other end of the couch, her missing show in hand. 

“Because the me that thought I liked my coffee black with no sugar, was the me from Regina's curse. And it wasn't until I was back to being the real me that I figured out what I really liked.” David looked Ruby in the eye. “It wasn't until something happened to change everything I thought I knew about what I wanted that I learned what I'd been missing.”

After a few seconds, Ruby said, “Nice. I see what you did there.”

“Just talking about coffee.” David said with a smile before taking an other sip from his mug.

“Uh-huh. Sure you are.” A smile cracked her lips as she shook her head. “And on the subject of coffee-” Ruby said as she pulled on her shoes, “-did you forgive Regina for all those crap coffee's she made you drink?”

David shrugged. “Well, since we never had coffee in the Enchanted Forest, I wouldn't have any good or bad without her so… yeah, as far as coffee goes, I forgive her.”

“And the rest?”

David looked down at his mug and licked him lips. “It's a work in progress.”

“Do you think I'm right? About her and Emma?”

He took another sip and swished it around his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. “Lets just say, better you than me?”

“Or you could give me a straight answer.”

“Nothing straight about that topic.”

“David!” Ruby cried, not sure if she was more shocked or amused by his reply.

“What? If our positions were reversed you would have said the same thing.” 

“Yeah, but I'm the one that's supposed to say what everyone is thinking but no-one has the brass to say out loud.”

“Like I said, better you than me.”

“So you think I'm right?”

“It doesn't matter what I think.”

“Bullshit!”

“No, really. Don't get me wrong, Regina wouldn't have been my first choice for Emma but how I feel doesn't matter. If they _are_ True Loves, the only thing I get from trying to stop them is pushing Emma away. I lost my daughter once, I'm not going to do it again. Not over something I can't change.”

“Do you want to change it?”

David looked down at his mug and took a deep breath.

“Did Emma call?”

They both turned to find Snow standing just inside the kitchen, her bathrobe clutched shut by the hand against her chest.”

“No.” David got up and headed for Snow to wrap his arms around her waist. “Not yet.”

Ruby grabbed David's mug from the table in front of the couch and brought it over to the sink. “I should-”

“You're not staying for dinner?” Snow pulled her head off Davids chest to get a better look at her friend.

“Ems and I still have stuff to work out, middle of a family dinner's not the place for it.” Ruby felt her heart crumble a little at the look of disappointment that crossed Snow's face. With a sigh she walked over and joined in the hug. She pressed a kiss to Snow's cheek. “You know I love you.”

“Yes. But-”

“And you know I'm always going to be here for you… just not tonight. Besides, if I don't get home soon, Granny's gonna bust down your door and drag me out of here.”

A small, short lived, chuckle slipped from Snow.

“You take care of her.” Ruby gave David's cheek a quick kiss.

“Always do.”

“And you,” Ruby turned back to Snow. “You and me, girls night, tomorrow. Just the two of us.”

“Hey, how come she doesn't have to look after me?”

“Because if anyone comes after you, you can bore them to death with your coffee story.”

Snow's forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What? David?”

“I'll tell you later.” David gave Ruby a quick glare that did nothing to diminish her smile as she pulled away. “But first, how about I make you some breakfast?”

“Lunch.” Ruby tossed over her shoulder as she grabbed her coat on the way to the door.

“Tomorrow.” Snow called after her, then turned to her husband. “Now, what's this about coffee?”

* * *

Emma's grip on the steering wheel tightened as a gasp filled the truck's cabin followed quickly by an, “Ow!” as electricity arced from her fingertips to the metal arm of the gear shift causing her to yank her hands free.

“Sorry.” David said through the window, his knuckle still resting against the glass where he'd knocked a moment earlier, jolting Emma from her thoughts and, apparently, her as well.

“It's fine.” Emma brushed off the apology, flexing her fingers as she spoke before she cranked down the window but not before the lingering sting made her pause before she gripped the plastic knob.

“Mhmm.” David hummed softly as he rested his forearms along the sill of the now opened window, head ducked down to get a better view of Emma. “Where's Henry?”

“Regina's. She took him home to shower and change before dinner. Something about him not smelling like smoke and animal droppings.”

David gave a light chuckle, head slowly nodding as he scanned the interior of the truck with his eyes before he refocused on Emma. “She didn't give you any troubles, I hope?” David's face blanked for a moment as he watched panic spread across Emma's. “The truck, I mean. No problems with the truck.”

Too late.

Emma sagged in her seat, her eyes locked on the centre of the steering wheel. “How much do you know?”

David's hand squeezed the window frame as he fought back the urge to reach out to comfort his daughter. “Enough.”

Emma's head dropped forward onto her arms as she crossed them over the steering wheel. “Great.”

“Emma-”

“Can we not?” Emma turned her head, more rolled it on her wrists, enough to look David in the eye. “I really don't have it in me.”

“Then you probably don't want to see your mother right now.”

Emma rolled her head back to centre. “Why do you think I'm sitting here in the truck?”

David gave another, slow nod. “Fair point.” He glanced over his shoulder, up towards the loft then turned back to Emma. “You could come with me if you want. Snow's sent me on a last minute wine run. Something about making sure there was enough to keep things from getting awkward.”

A short, bitter, laugh erupted from Emma, shaking her shoulders as she remained slumped over the steering wheel. “Too late.”

“Emma-”

“What?” Emma lifted her head this time as she turned to her father. “Whatever 'it'll all work out in the end' speech you've got, I really don't want to hear it.”

“No speech. Not from me anyway, That's more your mother's specialty”

“Then what.”

David cocked his head to the side. “You think three bottles will be enough?”

Another laugh, this one softer than the last, slipped from Emma. “On top of what you already have, or total?”

“Total.”

“I'd get at least four.”

“Four it is.” David flashed Emma a grin. “Any suggestions?”

The hint of a smile that had hovered around Emma's mouth for the last several seconds faded as her thought's drifted back to her run in with Gold the night she and Regina had first hashed out the details for the camping trip.”

“Sorry.”

“What?” Emma gave her head a small shake. “Forget it.” She pulled the keys from the ignition, David backing up as Emma opened the door and climbed out of the truck. “She likes the expensive stuff.” Emma tossed the keys to David as she spoke. “Red especially.”

David's face blanked again and Emma's soon followed as she shoved her hands into her coat pockets. “Wine, I mean. She likes red _wine_

* * *

Emma paused outside the loft —hand resting on the doorknob— and took a slow, deep breath before twisting her wrist.

“Back alrea-” Snow looked up from the cookbook spread open next to an array of ingredients in various states of assembly. “Emma.”

“Hey.” Emma stood in the doorway, neither woman sure which side of it she'd be on when it closed until it clicked shut behind her. 

“Your father-”

“Yeah, I know. He told me.”

“Oh…” Snow dropped her gaze to the cookbook, tapped the page twice, then looked up again. “I guess you probably want to get cleaned up and changed?”

“Yeah I should-” Emma nodded, at last moving away from the door as she headed for the loft's sole bathroom.

“I love you.”

Snow held her breath, unable to bring herself to turn her head to see if Emma had stopped. She hadn't planned on saying it. Hell she hadn't planned anything, not knowing where to start or if Emma would even come home since her daughter hadn't so much as texted her before walking through the door. And just as Snow was about to give up hope that Emma might not run for the hills, the blonde slowly backed up into view.

“Snow-”

“Emma-” Snow cut her off, the 'I'm sorry' that had started to rise up her throat never made it to her lips. “Just… listen. Please. I don't need you to say it back, I don't even expect you to because I know how hard it is for you to say it, to even feel it given the life you've had but I want you to hear it.” Snow said, voice barely above a whisper as she looked around but never at her daughter. Not until after she'd added, “And I know that I'm to blame for that life.” and then only for a moment before Snow dropped her gaze to the counter. “And Regina too.”

Emma's jaw tightened as she looked down at the floor, unwilling to name the mix of emotions stirred up by Snow's addendum.

Neither woman said anything for several seconds.

Snow spoke first.

“But it was _my_ choice, Emma. My choice to send you here so that you could save us all and I know that sounds selfish, I do-” Snow tucked her hair back behind her ear self-consciously, her voice subdued as she picked up again. “And I can tell myself that it wasn't just so that you could save us, so that you could break the curse. I could say that it was because I wanted to keep you safe because I did, Emma.” She glanced up briefly, just long enough to say “I really did want that but…” before her fingers closed around a dish towel left on the counter, fidgeting with the semi worn hem as her gaze returned to the counter. “But it wasn't all I wanted. Keeping you safe wasn't the only reason I sent you away and not a day goes by that I don't hate myself for making the choice I did because I hate that I wasn't there for you, Emma. More than you can ever know and I know that there will always be some part of you that hates me for it too and I don't blame you for that. I wasn't there to be your mother, to love you the way you should have been loved, to make it easier for you to love back-”

Emma sucked in a breath. Snow cut her off before she could speak.

“Not that you- I _know_ you can love, Emma. I see it when you're with Henry. Just like I see it in Regina when she's with him. And I may not have been there for you when you were growing up but I know how powerful a mother's love for her child is, I know how much it can change you and I've seen that change in Regina, I remember every day since he arrived here and I've seen Regina change because of the love she has for him and I've seen that change in you, too, Emma. I have. And that gives me hope that you will learn how to love and be loved and I can't wait for the day when you feel comfortable and safe enough to tell me that you love me too-”

Snow took a shaky breath, quickly wiping away the tears that had escaped down her cheeks before Emma could say anything.

Or run away.

“But I don't want you saying it because you think you should or that you have to. I never want you to feel pressured into saying those words, ever. I don't care if it's to me, your father, Henry… or- or anyone else-”

Emma's head snapped up. “I don't-”

“I know.” Snow smiled again, still faint but stronger than her last and unlike the last one, this was more bittersweet than sad. “And it doesn't change anything if you do or if you don't because there is nothing, _nothing_ , Emma, that you could do that would ever make me stop loving you.”

Emma was the first to look away. A faint but accepting, “Snow…” slipped from mouth. Several seconds following in its wake before Emma, rapping her knuckles against the counter, turned to leave.

Snow followed Emma's exit with her eyes. several more seconds passing as she stared at the empty doorway before she let out a soft sigh then turned back to the cookbook.

“You're wrong though.”

Snow looked up to see Emma, half of Emma, peering around the corner. “About what?”

The rest of Emma stepped into view. “About some part of me always hating you. Hate…” Emma looked down at her hands, a wisp of a smile on her lips. “Hate needs to be fed and I'm not going to feed that part of me anymore. I know the choice you made, Snow. I made it to when I gave Henry up and not a day went by when I didn't think about how much he must hate me for doing that when I hated my parents for doing the same thing. Some part of me always had that running in the back of my head.”

“Emma.” Snow's hands tightened into fists on either side of the cookbook to stop herself from reaching out.

“No. No. That's my past, our past and there's no point hiding from it. Not anymore.” Emma took a shaky breath before looking up. “Not when we can't change what we did or didn't do no matter how much we might want to.”

That did it. Snow had her arms wrapped around Emma before she even knew she was moving and Emma had hers wrapped around Snow's waist before she knew what she was doing either. Both women sniffled as they fought to hold back the tears stinging their eyes.

“You should go camping more often.” Snow said to try to break the tension and Emma let out a sharp bark of laughter followed quickly by a matching one from Snow.

Emma was the first to pull back, half turned away from her mother as she wiped the cuff of her coat sleeve across her eyes. “Yeah, well,” She let out another laugh, this one softer but still choked with emotion. “It wasn't a complete disaster.”

Snow brushed Emma's hair back from her face, a hesitant smile on her lips as she patted Emma on the shoulder. “Speaking of, you better go get cleaned up before our guests arrive. You smell like smoke and-” Snow leaned in slightly, her nose wrinkling as she took two quick sniffs. “Lilacs?”

Without another word, Emma spun on her toes and quickly headed for the washroom.

* * *

David stopped outside the loft, not sure if the silence coming from the other side of the door was a good sign or not. He hoped it was —though whether that was from years of Snow's unending optimism rubbing off on him or his own desire to see his family happy was anyone's guess— but he knew his wife well enough to know that restraint wasn't always her strongest suit, especially when it came to matters of the heart —doubly so when it came to their daughter— just as he knew Emma tried to avoid talking about her feelings whenever possible. And after years of avoiding it, for Emma, whenever was practically always.

Unless your name was Regina Mills.

_Seriously, how had they never seen this before Ruby pointed it out?_

David shook his head, then sucked in a deep breath to prepare himself for whatever awaited him inside as he adjusted his grip on the double bagged collection of wine he'd spent the better part of a half hour picking out and, after only a few more seconds passed by, cracked open the door.

The smell of Snow's cooking filtered into the hallway but that was all. No voices. No crying either, which could go either way but David hoped meant there hadn't been any to begin with while he was away. Licking his lips, David pushed the door open further, peaking his head through before following with the rest of his body.

“Snow?”

“Hmm?” Snow looked up from the framed photo in her hands, a distant smile plucked at the corners of her mouth as she briefly focused on him before returning her gaze to the picture. “David.”

David nudged the door shut behind him with his foot, one eye kept on Snow as he made his way over to deposit his haul of social lubricant —four higher-end-of-mid-priced bottles of wine, two each of Syrah and Malbec— on the counter before joining his wife on the couch. He stole a peek at the photo in her hands along the way.

It was a family photo, one of the four of, Him and Snow and Emma and Henry enjoying dinner at Granny's dinner taken not that long ago. He remembered the night. He also remembered Regina had been the one to take the picture.

David glanced over his shoulder towards the hallway after several seconds of nothing from Snow. “So… how'd it go?”

“Fine.” Snow replied almost immediately in a tone that David knew meant the opposite.

“Sort of.” 

A half smile of success flickered at the corners of his mouth, disappearing completely by the time Snow had laid the photo across her lap.

“I think we're okay. I just…” Snow trailed off, a heavy sigh parting her lips before she turned towards David and curled against his side, his arm falling naturally across her shoulders, hand gently rubbing Snow's arm as she tucked the photo against her chest. 

“There's so much I want to tell her, David. So much I need her to know but I just, I don't know how to say it without pushing her away. Without making all of this worse.”

David kissed the top of her head. “Maybe you can't, Snow.”

“I know. I know.” Snow said a little more tersely than she'd intended. “I'm sorry. I just. She means so much to me, David. To both of us. I don't want this to come between us. Not when we've already lost so much time together.”

“I'm sure she understands that.” David soothed as he slipped his arm down to her waist and pulled her a little tighter against his side. “I'm sure she knows that we love her-”

“I know she knows that.” Snow cut in, the steel in her voice this time forged from certainty, not ire. “I'm not worried about that. At least no more than I was before. No, David-” Snow pushed herself up, hip still pressed against her husbands as she looked him in the eye. “I'm worried about her feelings for Regina.”

“I thought-”

“Not that way.” Snow shook her head, pulling a little further from David as she glanced down at the photo again. “I'm worried she'll hide from her feelings because some part of her thinks we won't approve. I'm worried that she'll sacrifice her happiness because of _our_ past with Regina.”

Snow wiped the back of her hand against one eye, then the other. “And I can't live with that, David. I know Regina isn't who we'd chose for her, I know Regina and I will never be able to completely move past what happened between us, even if we can forgive each other there will always be the memory of the pain we've caused each other hanging over our heads. And I know as much as I want to think otherwise, as easy as it is to put all the blame on Regina, that I played a part in everything that happened too. I grew up in a loving family, Regina didn't. I had a mother that protected me, Regina didn't. I had a father that would do anything to protect me while Regina's just stood by while Cora tortured her. I know that doesn't excuse Regina, plenty of people have hard lives and don't turn evil, but plenty of children my age would have known better than to trust a stranger just because they'd never known a mother who would hurt her own daughter the way Cora did and smile while doing it. Who would have kept the promise they made to someone so selfless as to risk their own life to save theirs.”

“Snow-”

Snow brushed aside David's hand as he tried to wipe away the tears slipping down her cheeks, taking his hand in her own as her other dried her face with two quick swipes.

“I'm fine.” She gave him a small smile to reassure him. “Honestly, I think I needed this to make me see the truth. Regina may have chosen to be evil but she didn't make those choices in a vacuum and the choices I made, even if I was a child, affected her in ways neither of us could have anticipated.”

Her smile grew a little more and she had to dab at her cheeks a seconds time while squeezing David's hand. “Kind of like Henry coming into Regina's life. He gave her the chance to love and be loved… and that's what I want for Emma. I want her to have that chance but I want her to know that she can _take_ that chance even more and that she doesn't have to worry about loosing what she already has by taking it.”

Snow sniffled, tucking her self against David's side again as she looked at the photo once more.

“And I know that _if_ Emma and Regina did become a- a couple, half the town would never understand and the other half would think Regina had her under some sort of spell. Or that Gold was behind it. I know it won't be easy _even with_ all of us supporting her.”

Another sniffle.

“Them… and I get that Emma might ignore her feelings for Regina because of what it might mean for Henry, or because she's afraid that Henry might not understand or approve of them being more than what they are or that it might make things awkward if she and Regina don't work out but…”

Snow ran her finger over Emma's hair in the photo. “How do you convince someone who never grew up with love that love is worth the risk?”

David eyed the photo now sitting on his lap.

“David?”

“Yes?”

Snow turned her head to catch his eye. “I was sort of hoping for an answer there.”

“Oh. Right. Uhmm…” David hemmed, disturbing Snow's position as he sat up a little straighter. “I don't know. I wish I did because I want the same thing you do, Snow. I want Emma to be happy. I want her to find love, whoever it's with, and I want her to know that we'll always be there for her but…”

He shrugged.

Snow sighed, laying her head on his shoulder as she pressed back against his side.

Behind them, Emma, her hair still damp from her shower, retreated back down the hallway.

* * *

“Henry?”

“I'm coming.” Henry's voice, muffled as it passed through his bedroom door, just managed to reach Regina at the bottom of the stairs leading from the Manor's foyer to the second floor.

Her lips pressed together, a soft, “Hmph” exiting through her nose as she finished putting her earrings in place —the fifth pair she'd conjured since leaving her bedroom after her own shower and change of clothes had been taken care of.

She'd give him two more minutes and then she was heading up to see what has taking so long.

Regina turned her attention from Henry's prolonged reappearance to the mirror hanging opposite the staircase, hair held back as she examined the pearl studs piercing her earlobes.

Another “Hmph” and the studs disappeared in a swirl of magic, deposited back in the jewellery box in her bedroom while another pair appeared in the cupped palm of her hand. She held one of the simple gold loops up to an ear, eyes narrowed slightly in appraisal of her reflection before giving a small shake of her head. She was about to send them back to her jewellery box as well when a glimmer of a smile played across her mouth. Holding the loop back to her ear, a small, brief, twist of purple smoke closed around the thin gold band, fading away to reveal a half inch, gold pine-cone dangling from the base of the blunt hook pinched between her fingertips.

“Perfect.” She muttered to herself, slipping one, then the other modified earring into place before giving each one last check in the mirror.

“Ready?”

Regina turned away from the mirror, Henry already half way down the staircase in his rush, his backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Hold on.” Regina reached out to stop the boy's momentum from carrying him out the front door, quickly giving his general appearance a once over before focusing on the backpack. “Why are you bringing that?”

“It's a surprise.” Henry said, the look of innocence on his face setting off alarm bells in Regina's head.

“Henry-” She reached out to take the bag from him only to pull her hand back when her son twisted away from her.

“It's a surprise.” He repeated forcefully, the edge to his voice changed to a gentle plea as he added, “Please, Mum. Trust me?”

Regina eyed the backpack again. “Fine.” She said, giving him a single nod, both word and gesture meet by a cheer from Henry as he raised a fist in triumph.

“You'll love it, I promise.” He called over his shoulder as he ducked around Regina and raced out the front door.

“One can only hope.” Regina muttered dryly under her breath, then grabed both her and Henry's coat as she followed her son; the door Henry had left wide open clicked shut behind her.

* * *

Regina eyed the backpack bouncing from the strap slung over Henry's shoulder as he raced up the stairs to the loft ahead of her own more dignified pace. She trusted her son, she did, probably more than she'd ever trusted anyone in her entire life —even more than the man he was named after— but she was starting to regret not pushing harder to find out what 'surprise' Henry had inside.

No, that was a lie. She'd started regretting that the moment they'd reached the car and he'd insisted on sitting in the back seat with the pack clutched against his chest like his life depended on it. But after stressing how much true love depended on trust during their conversation that morning, she couldn't really force him to reveal his surprise before he was ready to do the honours himself.

This was Emma's fault. Some how, this was Emma's fault.

“Mum, C'mon.”

Regina let a small sigh slip free before picking up her pace slightly. “We don't shout in hallways, Henry.”

“I didn't-”

“Hey kid-”

“Mom!”

Regina reached the top of the stairs while this exchange played out and she turned, hand holding the rail a little more tightly than strictly needed, to see Emma released from Henry's usual bear hug.

“Emma.” A small smile flickered across Regina's lips.

Emma's remained flat. “Regina.” She glance back through the partially open door to the Snow's apartment then turned to Henry. “Why don't you go in and help set the table while me and your Mom have a quick talk.”

Henry looked back and forth between them. “Is everything okay?”

Regina looked at Emma, wondering the same thing.

“Yeah, it's fine. Just boring mom stuff.”

“Henry?” Snow's voice called from inside.

Regina noticed the almost imperceptible way Emma's lips quirked up at the corners. Her own turned down slightly.

“See, she's waiting for you, now get.”

“You sure it's okay?”

“Positive.” Emma gave Henry a push towards the door. “We'll be in in a minute. Promise.”

Henry turned his head towards Regina then ran over to give her a hug. “Love you.” He mumbled against her stomach. Regina hugged him back across his shoulder —when had he got so big?— before he pulled away and ducked past Emma into the apartment.

Just a moment too late to stop Snow from poking her head into view.

“Regina.” 

_She_ smiled.

“Snow.”

“Emma?”

“We'll be in in a minute.”

“Are-” Snow glanced over at Regina. “No rush.” She said, another smile only a shade smaller than her last flashed in Regina's direction before she disappeared back into the loft, the closing door cutting off Henry's voice asking what was for dessert.

“Kids, huh?” Emma shrugged, a grin briefly framing her lips as she looked at the floor.

“He gets that from you.” Regina said, her own voice carefully neutral.

“What?” Emma looked up.

“The bearclaws, the grilled cheese', the burgers, the milkshakes,” Regina paused long enough to wet her lips, “the s'mores. He certainly doesn't get that from my side of the family.”

“So we're taking sides now?”

Regina's face twitched

“I'm kidding.”

“Yes, well, thankfully Henry gets his sense of humour from my side of the family.”

“Cause your a barrel of laughs.”

“I have my moments.”

“I bet you do.”

The smiles faded from both of their faces and silence filled the hallway for several moments.

“What did you-”

“I just wanted to-”

Both women fell silent again.

“You were saying?” Regina prompted Emma after a few seconds.

“I… I just wanted to say thank you, you know, for the whole camping trip. I know it's not your thing but-”

“Actually, I found it rather enjoyable.”

Emma glanced at the apartment door before taking a step away from it, a step that just happened to be towards Regina. “Really?”

“Yes.” Regina said before giving the Loft's entrance a glance of her own followed by a step towards Emma. “Part of it, anyway.” She turned back to Emma. “I could have done without your little _friend_ showing up but o-”

“I'm really sorry about that. I swear I didn't know she was coming or I would have-”

Regina held up a hand. “Emma, stop. I don't hold you responsible for _her_ actions.” Regina said, glancing again at the door behind Emma. “Speaking of which,” She turned back to Emma. “This, whatever Miss Lucas said to your mother...”

Emma looked down at her feet. “It's fine.”

“Emma-”

Emma looked up. “Really, it's fine, Regina. We're good, all three of us. I Promise.”

“Cross your heart?” Regina asked, one corner of her mouth pulled back slightly in a small, playful grin, her hands crossed together in front of her.

“...If that's what it takes to convince you...”

The two watched each other for a few moments that felt far longer to Emma before Regina shook her head. “I'd never ask you to put your heart in such a precarious position, Dear, so I suppose I'll have to trust you instead.”

“Mum?” Henry poked his head through the doorway, pulling both women around to focus on him. “Dinners ready and I'm hungry. Are you two gonna be much longer?”

“No, Henry. I believe we're done here.” Regina answered for the both of them.

Emma looked back at Regina before nodding a half beat later. “Yeah, we're done.”

“They're done.” Henry called over his shoulder, turned back to give both of his mother's a 'come on' head jerk, then slipped back into the apartment, the door left half open behind him.

“Is there wine?” Regina asked as she walked past Emma.

“Four bottles.”

“Really? Perhaps we should send your father out for more.”

* * *

The first few minutes were the worst. On top of the usual awkwardness between Regina and her mother, Emma had the whole possibility of Snow making a 'my daughter might be your True Love' confession worry hanging over her head but outside of a few hopefuly-not-to-meaningful-to-Regina glances in Emma's direction, Snow kept herself in check and Henry's empty stomach hurried the five of them into their seats around the table; Snow and David on one side, Emma, Henry, then Regina on the other.

After that it was almost easy. The conversation was a bit stilted at first despite David's attempts to keep everyone engaged in some light banter but, honestly, Emma was fine with eating in silence and it looked like she might get her wish for once but then David asked Henry if he'd enjoyed fishing which lead to Henry telling them about trying to swim and the water being too cold and Emma's attempt to heat up the lake with magic.

“What?” Snow asked, not quite covering the concern in her voice as she locked eyes on her daughter. “Emma-”

“It wasn't-” Emma shot a look at a bashful but grinning Henry, then past him at a slightly smirking Regina. “She started it.”

“Really, Miss Swan?”

“Am I lying?” Emma asked, turning to face Snow before Regina could reply. “The lake was cold and Regina was going to heat it up with magic and then she called rule one and decided to make me heat myself up instead-” Emma felt a flush of warmth spread across her cheeks at the memory of what happened next. Thankfully the same moment her self-consciousness kicked in, Snow interrupted her.

“Rule one?”

“Mum's in charge.” Henry supplied. “She was giving Mom magic lessons all weekend and that was rule one. Mom had to do whatever Mum told her. It was part of their bet.”

David turned slightly in his seat to get a better look at his wife without actually looking at her.

“What?” Snow asked, eyes still locked on Emma.

“It's nothing. It was just a stupid bet about which of us was a better camper, that's all.” Emma explained. “If I won, Regina had to make me whatever I wanted to eat for a month and if she won, I had to take cooking lessons from her for a month.”

David looked between Regina and Emma. “And who won?”

“I did.” Both women said simultaneously, then turned to each other in perfect sync. “No you didn't.”

“Can we get back to the magic.” Snow cut off any further debate.

“She has magic, Dear.” Regina leaned forward in her seat. “And whether you or she like it, it's safer for everyone if she learns how to use it.”

Snow opened her mouth, then closed it again as she looked down at David's hand over hers.

“It was my choice.”

“You're right.” Snow looked up. “It's your choice. And this is a part of you and you shouldn't run from it or hide from it if you don't want to. And Regina's right.” Snow turned to Regina. “So thank you for looking out for my daughter.”

Emma stared down at her plate, the background tick of the clock pounding in her ears.

_**tick … tick … ti-** _

“You're welcome.”

Henry looked around the table. “She can make fireballs. Kind of.”

“What?”

Emma looked up at Snow while Regina gave a chastising “Henry.” off to her side.

“What? She can. She was super proud of it too.”

“You were?” Snow asked, her voice softer than a moment before.

“I-” Emma glanced up at her mother, then quickly shifted to David, then Henry, and finally Regina, lingering there for a moment before turning back to Snow. “Yeah.” She nodded. “I was.”

“Can I…”

“I- I don't know if-”

“Safer than a rock, Dear.” Regina said. "Especially at the size you make them."

Emma shot Regina a look.

Snow and David exchanged a glance, Snow turning her eyes to Regina while David studied Emma.

“Mom, please? You worked really hard on it.”

Emma lips pulled back into a wide, smug smile that she turned to Henry. "Sure, Kid." She held out her hand, palm up, letting her smile fade from her lips as she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

&hellp

“When does-”

“Shhh.” Regina shut off Snow's question.

Emma's lips quirked into a heartbeat long grin before she slowly exhaled.

“Oh my…”

One eye opened, then the other and Emma's grin returned in force at the glowing spot above her palm, her biggest firedot yet.

“Does it hurt?”

The flame flickered as Emma turned to Snow. “No. That's part of the trick.”

“Spell.”

“Whatever.”

“Hopeless.” Regina bemoaned, earning a chuckle from the rest of the table, including Emma who lost focus enough for the flame to fade out.

“Is that all she taught you?” David asked?

The rest of the meal was spent with Henry eagerly revealing all he knew about Emma's magic lessons including a simplified —and often corrected— version of Regina's explanation on how magic worked. David outpaced Snow for follow-up questions but Snow asked a few of her own and while David's were more or less equally divided between the three, Snow's were aimed primarily at Regina who, much to Emma's surprise, handled them with a patience that she hadn't been shown during her own lessons.

By the time they were ready for dessert, it almost felt like a normal meal outside of Emma, at Henry's insistence, demonstrating her rock floating technique on the remaining rolls. She managed to get three airborne at the same time and while did a fair job of hiding it, it was a toss up who was more proud of Emma's accomplishment between the three women with David and Henry tied for a close fourth.

“Who's ready for pie?” David asked as he got up from his seat, empty plates and cutlery in hand while Snow took care of the two empty wine bottles, both insisting that Emma and Regina stay seated as they cleared the table.

“Me!” Henry eagerly waved a hand over his head.

“One slice.”

“Awww.”

“With ice-cream?” Snow asked, her and Henry turning eerily similar hopeful looks towards Regina.

“Fine. Of course. I'm not a monster.”

“No you aren't.”

Emma looked between her mother's faint smile and the surprise on Regina's face.

“Oooh!” Henry cried out, all but bouncing out of his seat before racing for the front door.

“Henry!” Emma and Regina called after him.

“I almost forgot.”

“Forgot what?” David asked as he returned to the table, pie in one hand, a stack of small plates in the other.

“My special project.” Henry headed back to the table, back pack in one hand, the other digging through the contents.

“For school? Snow placed the tray of teapot and cups down on the table.

“No.” Henry climbed back into his seat, still rummaging through his bag.

“This the thing you were working on while we were camping?” Emma asked, reaching out to help Henry search only to have her hand slapped away.

“Yes.”

The four parents exchanged glances.

“Everybody close their eyes.”

“Henry-”

“Mum. It's a surprise. Please?”

“Alright.” Regina made a show of covering her eyes with both hands, Henry looked at the other three until they did the same.

“I swear to god, kid, if you brought home a squirrel or-”

“Okay, open them.”

As one, Snow, David, Regina, and Emma lowered their hands. There, in front of Henry, sat a book. Or at least an attempt at one, light brown construction paper glued around two sheets of box board sandwiched dozens of sheets between them, one edge binding the mass together with several loops of twine knotted down one side. 

“Is that-” Emma started to ask as she read the title written across the front in gold ink.

“Your storybook.”

“ _My-_ -”

“Cause you aren't in my other one.” Henry explained as he flipped open the cover to reveal the first page; a hand drawn picture of what was clearly Henry standing outside Emma's old apartment.

“See, it starts when I came to bring you home to Storybrooke.” Henry flipped through the pages, Emma recognizing the drawings without needing to read the short blurbs of text that Henry had included with each one. Her meeting Regina for the first time, her meeting Snow, her and Henry at the old 'castle' discussing operation cobra, when she saved Henry from the mine, when she saved Regina from the fire, when she became sheriff, David waking up from his coma, Snow getting arrested for murder, Henry eating the poisoned pastry, Emma fighting the dragon, Emma breaking the curse. All of it, good and bad, laid out in Henry's careful hand.

“It's for both of you.” Henry looked at Regina then at Emma. “Your story about becoming the saviour and Mum's story about becoming a hero.”

“I'm not a Hero, Henry.” Regina said softly. 

Emma felt her throat tighten at the emotion those few soft words still managed to carry and had to turn her head to the side as she cleared her throat with a cough.

“Not yet.” Henry flipped to a little past a third of the way through the book, Emma catching a quick glance of the last drawing of the three of them around a campfire, a small dot hovering over drawn Emma's hand while all three of them smiled — though she didn't remember the real Henry trying to roast a marshmallow over her firedot the way drawn Henry was— before her son looked up at Regina as the first of many blank pages looked up at the three of them. “But the story's not over yet.”

Emma coughed again, almost but not quick covering the small squeak Snow made.

“Henry-” Regina sucked in a quick breath.

Henry caught sight of the tears rimming Regina's eyes “Mum? I'm so-”

Regina ducked down, wrapping Henry in a tight hug as she pressed a kiss against the top of his head. "Thank you."

“S'okay, Kid. You did good.” Emma gave his hair a ruffle. For once he didn't protest.

“So you like it?” Henry asked once Regina pulled back.

“I love it.”

“And you?” Henry turned to Emma.

“It's perfect. Thank you.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Emma, Regina, and Snow all replied. Regina and Snow sharing a brief glance before Regina turned back to Henry to add, “And unlike the original it's not full of half truths, lies, and feel good propaganda.”

“Seriously, Regina?” Emma asked.

“Am I lying?” Regina asked, one eyebrow arched imperiously while a grin played across her lips.

Emma shook her head. “No. No you're not.”

“Exactly. Now, I don't know about the rest of you but I'm in the mood for some pie.” Regina turned to Snow. “Apple?”

“Cherry.” Snow corrected, giving Regina a small apologetic grin as she added, “Sorry.”

“It's fine. Next time I'll bring dessert.”

* * *

“You know,” Emma said as she walked Regina to her car, Henry already waiting by the door as they made their way downstairs, “We never did settle who won our bet.”

“On the contrary, I was clearly the winner.”

“How do you figure that?”

“If I hadn't been there to cook, you both would have starved.”

“Yeah but…” Emma started to protest, then shrugged. “Okay, I'll give you that but I still say I won.”

“On what grounds?”

“You cheated.”

“I did nothing of the sort.” Regina stopped a few steps shy of the end of the staircase and turned indignantly towards Emma. “We agreed that I was allowed to use magic for your lessons. Which, for the record, includes helping you repair your father's tires.”

Emma winced slightly —she really would need to get those replaced before too long— but held her ground. “True, but you still cheated.”

“Do explain how?”

“Your earrings.”

“My what?”

“Your earrings.” Emma pointed towards the gold baubles dangling from Regina's earlobes.

“And just what do my earring have to do with our bet.”

Emma gave Regina a ' _you asked for it_ ' grin. “Because I've never seen you wearing pine-cones before, Regina. Or do you want to put my super power to the test and tell me you didn't conjure those up just for tonight.”

Regina licked her teeth before shaking her head. “I still don't see how that means you won. I did so after we returned to civilization.”

“True. But our bet covers the whole weekend which means that technically, it's still going.”

“We never agreed to that.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But you had plenty of time to put in a different deadline and you didn't, so…”

Regina's eyes narrowed slightly. “Henry, ruling?”

“Sorry Mum, but she's right.”

“Suck it, your highness.”

“Majesty.”

“Whatever.” Emma tilted her head back, tapping her chin in thought. “And for my first made to order Regina Mills dinner I'm thinking... Lasagna.”

Regina licked her teeth again. A smile on her face this time as she shook her head. “Fine. Well you be joining Henry and I or shall I deliver it to you for your personal consumption.”

Emma looked past Regina to Henry exaggeratedly mouthing 'With Us'.

“If you think you can put up with me for another night…”

“I suppose there's only one way to find out.” Regina's lips pulled back a bit more, enough to reveal white teeth behind crimson lips. “Six on the dot, Miss Swan.”

“Six it is.”

Regina took the last few steps, hand resting on Henry's shoulder as she turned back to Emma. “And since the terms of our bet are, officially, still in effect until midnight that means rule one is as well.”

“Regina-”

“Sweet dreams, Emma.” Regina arched an eyebrow. “That's an order.”

Emma laughed before bowing at the waist. 

“As you wish, your Majesty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published: 18 11 2016 (18th, November)
> 
> So... yeah... took slightly over a year to get done but, hey, better than never, right?
> 
> For anyone not in the know, this chapter kicked my ass. Actually, one scene in particular did: when Emma returns to the Loft. No matter how many times I re-wrote it (and I tried for months) it kept veering off into **Angry!Emma Smash** territory. I thought I had it a few times but when I'd come back to it a few days/weeks later it always felt... off. 
> 
> Course that wasn't the only reason this took so long, some personal health issues and the inescapable realities of, well, reality played a part but honestly, after around the 4 month mark the biggest thing holding me back (in addition to that damned scene) was _that_ it have been _months_. I admit that every time I'd bang my head against that scene only to walk away still unsatisfied a part of me would get that bit more anxious about how long I'd kept you all waiting and every time, I'd hear that little voice in the back of my head saying how, no matter how good I could make the finished chapter, it still wouldn't be enough to be worth the wait. And every week that little voice got more than a little louder. 
> 
> Which, as you might expect, made working on the chapter harder which lead to more dissatisfaction with how and where it was going and, well, that ended up becoming a bit of a not-so-helpful cycle.
> 
> But hey, like I said, better late than never, right? And I'm actually pretty happy with what I have. I hope like heck you are too. 
> 
> And for those of you that are disappointed that Emma and Regina aren't _officially_ a couple by the end of the story... There may be a sequel. But if there is, you can darn well bet that I'll have the whole damn thing written before I post it.
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for taking the time to read this little flight of fancy (and this note) and an even larger/louder thank you to all of you that took the time to leave a comment along the way. As much as I fear(ed) your response to this chapter, you're why I kept beating my head against the wall to get it done.
> 
> Until next time (whenever that may be... though I did get a few short stories done in the last year that I'll probably post [all one shots, thankfully]), Enjoy :D
> 
>  
> 
> _P.S. For those of you curious about this sort of thing, this chapter is logging in around 11,000+ words according to my text editor which may make it the single largest chapter I've ever posted. Certainly in the top 3 at the very least._

**Author's Note:**

> A while (read year) ago I decided to try my hand at some tumblr Once Upon a Time rp-ing... one account didn't work out so much so I started posting OUAT fanfic there instead; never intending to post them here. Going over the account today and changed my mind.
> 
> So here they are (separately, mind you, not all together), with some minor editing (and titles too; fancy, fancy titles). Enjoy. ;D


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